Project: Newt
by kaminariinazuma
Summary: Introducing two new members to the Harry Potter cast...OMG their related to who! Beta'd by my two best friends Mad and Riz.
1. Default Chapter

Ok, Well This is my first Harry Potter Fanfiction. Umm, This beginning part is the prolouge and is actually probably longer than most of the chapter with the exception of the ones that include letter and/or diary entries. That is because my friends are helping me (two of the characters are theirs!J) and they wrote a lot. They are also betaing my story. Yay! J Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, except in my head. Neither do they as much as they want it. (Mad, Riz)

Summary: Introducing two new people to the Harry Potter cast and OMG they're related to who?… Oh Yea Before I forget:

'..' thoughts

".."speaking

..> parseltounge

_Maddy how have you been? I know I only saw you last week when school got out, but still it seems a long time to go without hexing little Miss Priss. Mum is doing fine, and insists that if I am so antsy to do some thing I can restock the family supply of Pepper-up. Of course I'm not sure if she has quite figured out yet that I actually like the challenge of making potions. I think sometimes that I take after my father too much for her to take.__Of course it just doesn't quite occur to her that if she leaves me in the potions lab unsupervised that I can, and will, play with and make some... interesting concoctions.__I can hardly wait until July. After all these years I get to go back to England. Bugger we both do. I wonder how Pops is doing, what he has created in that potions lab in the cellar, if he's moved, if he has kept himself from hexing those abysmal potions students that he always owls me about.__I just can't get over it. Bloody hell we are going to Hogwarts! Can you believe it? Honestly I am so glad. Though I will miss Miss Pratt, you know the school mediwitch, and Professor Owens is a marvelous headmistress.__I'm really going to miss Salem. We will just have to find a way to come back and visit. I am just amazingly lucky that your guardian decided to move back to Britain this year. I don't know what I would do without you.__You have got to let me know when you are going to Diagon Alley. I'll__try to meet you and we can make a day of it. Hope Aconite finds you well (and no I'm never letting my father name a pet again in my natural life).__Rizzy_

_Hey Rizzy,__I've been okay, I guess...Monster's been going absolutely crazy getting ready for the move. I think I'm ready to die! I can't wait until we're back at school and I can get rid of her! Okay, I know that's not very nice, but you know what it's like to have a single parent always on your case about every little, bloody, thing!__I've been writing a lot lately. Monster won't let me work on anything. I almost hexed her the other day when he back was turned. She drives me crazy! At least you know who your parents are. I have no idea who mine are and I'm hoping moving back with our own people will help me find something out. I know I've never really cared about it, but I think I may have a chance of finding something out about them. Or even my uncle. You know, the one I spent my first year with, after my mum died. I wonder what happened to him...hmmm...I don't know. But maybe you can help me.__I can't wait until we move too. It is going to be so awesome! We are going to see everything. And WE'RE GOING TO HOGWARTS! This is so wicked! We are going to have a blast! Yeah, I'm going to miss Miss Pratt and Professor Owens and all the other people...but WE'RE GOING TO HOGWARTS! I never get over saying that!__We'll have to set up some summer visits so we can come back here and see people. We can take pictures and show all of our new friends. We'll__have a lot of them. I promise. And no matter what, or who we meet, we'll still be the best of friends, right? I can't believe in like two years we'll be certified adult witches. I still haven't thought more about what I want to be. I want to travel the world. Y'know...see places others haven't seen. We've been holed up here for so long it'll be good to go out and see new places.__I have no idea when I'm going to Diagon Alley. But we definitely have to schedule a time where we can go together and have a lot of fun. I was thinking about mid-August. You agree? I wonder if they have any like, joke shops or something. We can stock up right before we...(cough)..."attend" this new school. :-) I wonder if there are any others at this school who are just like us. Maybe some cute boys. (Wink, wink) We can only hope, right?__Aconite found me okay. Don't worry. Morgan Le Fay's getting really frisky. She'll pace around my room staring absently at her traveling case. I think I need to get an owl...it's more useful than a cat. Though, I don't know how Morgan Le Fay would agree to that. We can take pets to Hogwarts right? I hope so! I don't think I could leave her all alone at home with Monster. (She's been thinking of getting rid of her!) The castle'll be nice and big, so she can run around and play. You know get into her usual mischief. All right, I have to go. Miss you lots.__ With Love, Maddy_

_Mad-__Believe it or not, by the time I got your owl I was already at Pops' place. And for the record yup we are allowed pets at Hogwarts, the only thing is that I might not get to have Sanguis. Apparently the European Wizarding world is a little more closed minded when it comes to snakes and parselmouths.__But for crying out loud, Fred Washington was a parselmouth and one of the best wizards that America has ever seen. One of the muggles first flags was in tribute to his familiar, don't you remember? That George Washington bloke suggested the "don't tread on me" flag because of his brother's familiar.__But then again you know all this and my rant won't exactly help with anything right now will it?__Well my dad has promised that if I can't actually have Sanguis as a pet at school he will "adopt" him. Apparently willingly given magical coral__snake venom is a key ingredient in many anti-poisons. As long as I'm there to coax it out of him we may get to experiment with some of these next year. But pops won't let me try any of it **now**. BUGGER!__Oh oh oh solution to our pet problem actually. If pops has to take in Sanguis then you get your owl and I will say that Morgan Le Fay is my__cat. That way between the two of us we get to have three pets and two of them are fairly intelligent! Don't look at me in that tone of voice! It could work! Probably.__Any way I've got to run. Dad has me making a full stock of the basic healing potions for the Hogwarts supply. Today's task: Pepper up. My favorite.__Owl me when you get to the island.__Rizz_

_Rizzy-__Wow! I wondered why it had taken so long for you to reply. This should get to you in no time, cause guess what! I'm in ENGLAND! It is so beautiful here! I just absolutely love it. I'm glad you're with your dad. Monster is having some stomach problems. (She doesn't like flying)__I think that's ridiculous that people in the European Wizarding World are like that about Parselmouths. What's so wrong with talking to snakes? Will they be that way with Sirens? Oh, gosh, I hope not! I don't see why they wouldn't let you keep Sanguis. Sanguis is the best trained snake I have ever met. (Okay, I haven't met many in my day, but still, you know what I mean.)__Yeah, Fred Washington...I read about him somewhere. Slightly less famous than his brother, but hey, we see how muggles treat wizards today; you shouldn't expect them to give any historical wizards any credit.__You're dad seems cool. I can't wait to meet him. Magical Coral Snake venom, huh? I never knew that! I hope he caves and lets you try some __experiments soon. I know how you are when you are around potion ingredients. You can't keep your hands off them for two seconds.__Hmmm...your idea could work...I think. I dunno how Morgan Le Fay would like it though...she's been temperamental lately. Who knows? I guess we'll have to wait and see when we go to Diagon Alley to see if they have any decent owls. And we'll decide then. Intelligent animals are good to have. (Intelligent friends too, for that matter) Remember: Two heads are better than one, especially when one of them is yours! Haha!__I have to go soon. I have to make some kind of soup or something for Monster's stomach. (Y'know, a pepper up would probably be nice right__now...if my cauldron wasn't stored away, locked in some case!) I can't wait until I see you again! Diagon Alley will be a blast!__Owl me soon!__With Love,__Maddy__PS: I went to an old library today. It was said to be run by a witch. I looked up old wizarding families in a really old book. I found something on purebloods! I looked in the index and found Black. Stupid book didn't tell me much about anything after 1706. A lot of help that was! And for the record...I don't even think the lady was a witch. She was just a batty old woman with a lot of pigeons. Anyway...I'll write again if I find anything.__Miss you. Bye_

_Mad what have I told you about pepper up potion? Do not brew it! It's a little too complex to brew without a way of getting help if there's an accident, and we both know that you are allergic to some of the ingredients.__I asked dad if there was such a thing as a siren to sound him out and what I got back was better than the view on parselmouths: Sirens, while historically known for killing men, are in current times considered among the natural best at magical law enforcement due to your ability to sense if someone is guilty on things. Add that to your affinity for DADA and you might want to look into training as an auror, or something in magical law. Maybe a lawyer. Part sirens aren't viewed as anything other than magical humans with different diet requirements, and a need for wind in their hair and wings. There is even a rumor that one of the quidditch teams prefers to employ only part sirens and part harpies, in particular for their beater positions.__Well that babble was a bit better than last letter's rant I suppose but I have a new rant to add: our CD players won't work at Hogwarts. What are we gonna do without music? The worst part is yet to come: THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE A CHOIR! We have to do something about this atrocity. Now before it has dire effects on any other young people!__Oh and Sanguis says that he has me trained not the other way around, he is not a pet, and "Le Fay needs to watch where she puts her hairballs" (yes I read your letter to the snake, he is my other best friend)__Have you found out a date for Diagon yet? I need to know because dad and I are going to restock our potions supplies soon. Let me know!__Rizzy_

_P.S. I mentioned your quest to find your family to dad and he said and I quote "ask the former headmaster Phineas Nigellus about the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black". Sounds pretty important to me._

_Rizzy-__I know, I know...I need to listen to you more often. I'm sorry my handwriting is kind of sloppy...your letter didn't arrive soon enough and I went ahead and tried to make it...in a pan...yeah...don't do that. Now my hands are all itchy.__Phew. I am so relieved about the Siren thing. I love having the ability to know when people are guilty of something. I was thinking about being an Auror. Fascinating job that would be. And it takes you all over the world, so it's perfect. Now, all I need to do is to find a guy who wouldn't mind me going off fighting some bad, evil...warlock people. Yeah, fat chance right? Quidditch sounds like an awful lot of fun...but I've never been on a broom in my life, and have never flown on anything besides a plane and my wings. But my wings aren't gonna be much help soon...I think I'm gaining some weight...this can be bad. We aren't supposed to carry anything over 100 lbs. I know I'm cutting it close. Monster wants to clip 'em. Tells me that they're causing me to be underweight and it's a 'health issue'. Health issue my ass. I eat just fine thank you very much. I told her she aint getting nowhere near my wings!__WHAT! What is a school without a choir? We're gonna die! We have to do something...create a spell that allows us to play CDs...with magic...or something! And maybe we can start our own choir...or a band! This school is going to be turned completely around when we get there. I am planning to make some serious changes, and you're gonna help me!__Sanguis is fat-headed! And you can tell him I said that! (I don't really like snakes, as I've told you before...but your choice...) Although, I do agree with him on the hairball thing. She left me a surprise in my slippers. Yeah...I need to buy new ones. I guess Monster's not the only one who didn't agree with the plane ride over here. I still haven't gotten over the whole...you talk to snakes thing...it's weird. But then again, you haven't really gotten over the 'I have wings and have a nasty desire to kill men sometimes' thing...although the latter might just deal with the fact that I'm a woman...and that's typical.__I was thinking maybe the 16th of August...which is soon. I really don't want to get my calendar out again to see when it is. If this is good for you and your dad, tell me okay?__With Love,__Maddy__PS: Now...did your dad say this in a good tone or a bad tone? Like...he was interested...or was completely disinterested and kinda didn't want to discuss it? 'The Noble And Most Ancient House of Black'? I have a home? Wow! That's great! And...who the bloody hell is Phineas Nigellus? (Who would name their poor defenseless child Phineas anyway?) Well, thank your dad for me. I'll look up more on that Phineas guy and see what I can find. Thanks a lot.__Love ya. Bye._

_I thought you had the common sense not to brew with ingredients you are allergic too! The hands serve you right!__On other happier notes I still don't understand how I never got you up on a broom. The star beater of SWA and I never got you to even fly without wings. Well at least you cheered for me at games... Oh and Apparently all of the houses except Slytherin have open beater positions, and Slytherin has tryouts for all positions every year, so I'll probably get to play no matter what house I'm in. Dad thinks it'll be Ravenclaw or Gryffindor though. You should see the look of revulsion on his face when he says that. It is the funniest thing in the world.__August 16 looks good, Try to meet me at noon in front of Flourish and Blotts. It's the book store, and apparently IT HAS THREE STORIES PACKED WITH BOOKS! We both know that that is my fantasy dream, and what I have been waiting to get at all my life.__Oh and I have already gotten permission (I had to get special permission what are they thinking, parseltounge isn't that rare in the population) to bring Sanguis to Hogwarts as my pet. He and I both found it quite condescending as you, I and he all know that Sanguis is a bound familiar, and I can't exactly get rid of him. My magic is kinda tied to him.__As to the Auror thing, I believe that it requires a certain proficiency with POTIONS, so if you want your extra help I would play nice. It doesn't exactly sound like a career for me all considered I would rather get my potions and transfigurations mastery and set up shop, maybe a tutoring kinda thing. I dunno. If professional quidditch doesn't work out at least I have a fall back plan am I right?__Dad is finally letting me play with something new, so I've gotta run. See you in the Alley.__Rizzy_

_PS. The whole thing was said kinda sarcastically and scornfully if that __helps._

_Rizzy-__Okay...Okay...I get the message. I won't work with potion ingredients I'm allergic to anymore. At least for the time being...__I know...but broomsticks scare me sometimes...it's just the thought that there's only this thin stick of wood keeping you in the air. It's kind of unnerving. Anyway, I hope whatever house you're in, you'll be on the Quidditch Team. That'll be so cool! I have no idea what house I'm going to be in. I heard that a lot of pure blood families are in Slytherin, and from what I've read about the Black legacy...we're pretty pure... I mean, I guess Slytherin would be okay...but I think I'd prefer Gryffindor. Then we could be together! That would be a scream! And I'm sure your dad would overjoyed. (sarcasm)__A THREE STORY BOOK SHOP! Wow...that is like...heaven! We are definitely going to have to stock up! I was worried at first because I had no idea how I was going to pay for anything, but I spoke with...um...what was his name...Dumbledore? Or something like that...and he said that it was nothing to worry about. Since my uncle was my "legal" guardian, I would use his vault at Gringotts when I got there. He still won't tell me what my uncle's name is...it's really making me mad.__I'm happy you get to keep Sanguis. I don't think I've ever seen you without him...I think you'd die if you weren't allowed to keep him. But, I'd probably be the same way with Le Fay. (Hey, that rhymed!)__A tutor? Hmm...well you have fun with that! I dunno if I want to be an Auror. It sounds exciting...but also really dangerous. But...then__again...Danger is my middle name! Well...actually my middle names are Charlotte Elizabeth, but that's beside the point. I think you'd be an excellent professional Quidditch player! That's a good thing to be able to fall back onto.__Well, I need to go. I'll see you at Flourish and Blotts!_

_With Love,__Maddy_

_PS: Hmmm...I take it your dad doesn't have a good past with the Blacks...don't bother asking him...if he has, than that'll just make him mad...anyway...thanks again. Bye!_

"Harry are you ready?"

"Yeah, one minute Professor Lupin, bye, Aunt Petunia, Uncle Dursley, Dudley see you next summer."

"……………"

"Well let's go Harry."

"Yeah"

Harry stepped into the yard with Remus. Remus led him to the car in the driveway. It was an old dingy blue color. It looked rather ordinary and as Harry looked at it he realized that was the point. To not be odd so they would blend in easier. "It'll be all right Harry. You know everything will be fine.""Yea sure Professor Lupin." Remus sighed but focused on driving the vehicle through traffic. He had only gotten what muggles called a 'license' in order to be able to pick up Harry inconspicuously. He was still rather new to driving.

"Harry you know you can call me Remus or Lupin as I am no longer your Professor and we are not at school."

Lupin finished with a small smile. "Er.. yes Pro……I mean Lupin." Replied Harry catching in the middle when he recalled what Lupin had just told him. Harry and Lupin sat through the rest of the ride to 12 Grimmauld Place in virtual silence. The only noise was the radio and the occasional question.

27 July


	2. Back To Grimmauld Place

AN: Hello, Sorry it took so long to update. Yeah, my beta's grew frustrated with my lack of writing (writers block) so they took it into their hands. Now instead of just being betas they are coauthors. YAY! So this chapter was written by Mad. Next one's going to be by Riz. Hope you enjoy the chapter and please review. I don't care if you flame neither do Mad and Riz. Oh I believe, I should warn you we are pyromaniacs so flames won't bother us. J

Summary: Introducing two new people to the Harry Potter cast and OMG they're related to who…! Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter and Company… if we did Mad would be in bliss. Oh Yea Before I forget: Italics thoughts. Unless otherwise stated.".."speaking 

.. parseltounge

The day Harry arrived with Lupin, the entire house felt like a weight had been lifted off their shoulders. Harry was there with them and he was safe.

(Flashback) _"Harry!" was the first thing heard when the door opened. In an instant, Harry was smothered in a bone-crushing hug. He was having a difficult time breathing. Lupin noticed this. "Molly, why don't you let Harry go? He can't breathe…." _(End Flashback)

Harry was up in his room sitting on his bed, staring blankly at the wall.

_I don't want to be here…I thought I did, but I don't…not now…not without him…I can't stand it…it's too much…_

He was pulled out of his reverie by the door opening. Ginny peered inside.

"Hi Harry. Mum says it's time for supper. Oh, yeah…Charlie's here too!" Ginny added as an afterthought.

"Thanks, Ginny…" replied Harry, smiling weakly.

Harry stood and walked to the door where Ginny was waiting. He was stunned to see how tall she had gotten in the past two months. She bore a striking resemblance to her older brother, Ron, but the glint in her brown eyes was that of her twin brothers'.

They walked quietly down the staircase. As they got further down the stairs, they could hear some murmuring from the rooms below.

Upon entering the kitchen, Molly noticed him right away.

"Hello, Harry, dear. How are you doing?"

"Fine"

"Good that's good. Now, eat some dinner. You need to eat more, Harry. You're nothing but skin and bones!"

The entire Weasley family, including Charlie, Ron, Fred and George (or Gred and Forge, as they had taken to calling themselves) were sitting at the table already. Tonks smiled at Harry from her seat at the end of the table. Mrs. Weasley was obviously not letting her help with dinner again. Lupin was bustling around the kitchen helping set the table. Ginny rushed to help him.

Harry noticed that Hermione was absent from the group. He wondered if she had even arrived yet. He took his place next to Ron, and look around the room. Gred and Forge were talking to each other in hushed voices about some new type of prank product, there was no doubt about it. Harry caught little bits of their conversation. It sounded like they were planning something.

"Well, what about exploding?"

"Nah, how about _imploding_?"

"Wicked!"

That was really all Harry could hear along with, "Smoke", "Cost" and "Damage". Shrugging, he turned back to Ron.

"Where's your Dad?"

"Er….he's…out…" Ron answered quietly.

Harry knew that "out" meant he was doing something for the Order. Surely, none of them were still on guard duty. There was no need of it. The prophecy had been smashed and Voldemort hadn't heard it.

"So, Harry, how's your summer been?"

"Huh?"

Harry turned quickly and came face to face with a sunburned Charlie Weasley. (O so Harry thought…it could have been some other kind of burn…Charlie did work with dragons.)

Charlie chuckled, "I said, how's your summer been?"

"Okay, I guess…How about you?"

"Good." He frowned, "You seem to be kinda zoned out. You okay?"

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine…I was just thinking." Harry replied quickly.

"All right." Charlie replied with a smile, "No need to get all defensive, I was just asking."

"Sorry Charlie, I just have a lot on my mind."

Suddenly they heard Ginny squeal. A battered owl swooped in and out of the hall very quickly, bumping into walls occasionally. All eyes turned to her.

"What?" she asked looking innocent.

"Why'd, you scream?" Tonks asked tentatively.

"Oh, that." She said dismissively. "I got a letter from Hermione, see?" she held up the letter only for a second and stuffed it into her pocket.

There was a collective "Oh!" from the table, before the normal chatter resumed. Ginny decided to leave the table and go upstairs to read the letter. She was very, very careful not to wake anything up as she went up the stairs. She flopped onto her bed, tore open the seal and began to read what Hermione had written.

_Ginny,_

_How is everything? I'm fine. How is Ron and the rest of the family? Have you spoken to Harry? Is he there with you? Ron told me you were planning to go and pick him up. I do hope he's all right. _

_Things are great here. There is another reason I am writing. I can't come to visit you this year. My parents want me to stay with them, rather than skip out of our family vacation. I'm really sorry, but we're going to India! Ooh, I can't wait! I have to get so many immunization shots, so I won't get sick. I hate needles, but I'd rather have that than some foreign disease that can kill me. I'll bring back loads of pictures and souvenirs for everyone. And my Mum says that we'll be back soon so I may be able to go to Diagon Alley with everyone. Just owl me when you find out your going._

_Well, we're leaving soon, but your owl should be able to reach me. Oh, my Mum says not to send too many owls, because we will be staying at a muggle hotel. She doesn't want to scare anyone. (They are very superstitious in India.) So, that's all for now. Oh yes, Crookshanks says "Hi!"_

With Love

Hermione

P.S Hope to see you in Diagon Alley

Ginny reread the letter.

Oh, no…Hermione isn't coming? She's leaving me here…by myself?

"NOOO!" The sound of her scream vibrated through the room and outward through the hallways. It woke up the portrait of Mrs. Black who began howling about "BLOOD TRAITORS!"

Everyone ran up the stair quickly to see what the ruckus was. Lupin went to the portrait to shut her up.

"Ginny are you all right?" Mrs. Weasley asked panicking.

"Yes, Mum, I'm fine…"

"Why'd you yell then?" Ron asked.

"Hermione isn't coming to visit this summer! She is going away with her parents, then staying at their house for the rest of the summer! I'm going to be the only girl here for two whole months. I won't have anyone to talk to at all! I'll go crazy!"

Tonks plopped down on the bed next to her. "No you won't. I'll be here! We can talk about everything! We'll be the best of friends!" A look of complete horror spread across Ginny's face.

Mrs. Weasley fumed, "That's why you screamed.? Ginny Weasley! You woke up Mrs. Black and scared us all half to death, just because of a letter!"

"I'm sorry, Mum…I just…"

"Let me see that!" Ron said, reaching out for the letter.

Ginny clutched it to her chest; "No! It's mine!"

Ron wrestled it from Ginny's hands and tried to read what was written on the now torn and very wrinkled piece of parchment.

"She says she'll be able to go to Diagon Alley with us…don't worry…" Ron tossed her the letter. "You won't be completely alone…"

Everyone left the room quickly. Ginny threw Ron a dirty look as he walked out behind Harry. While everyone else returned to the kitchen, the boys returned to their room.

Ron fell backward onto his bed and held a hand to his stomach; "I am so full…and I don't know why…"

Harry sank down onto his own bed and looked over at Ron, surprised; "Did I just hear you say you were full? Wow…miracles do happen…"

Ron laughed sarcastically and attempted to sit up with great difficulty. He looked over at Harry who was no staring at the ceiling.

"So…er…" Ron started, "How is everything?"

Harry wished everyone would stop asking him that. He was fine! His answer was not about to change. Even if he wasn't fine he didn't want to talk about it.

Ron waited for Harry's answer. It didn't come. He understood and decided to drop the subject. Hermione had been writing to him too. She had warned him not to say anything about…you-know-who.(And she didn't mean Voldemort.)

"So…uh...maybe this year will be our year, y'know…maybe we'll get girlfriends…"

Harry nodded. He didn't want to talk about this either. He had tried to shove the memory of Cho out of his mind for the time being. He didn't like her anymore. Not like he used to at least. Any hopes of getting back together with her were long since gone. He started to wonder if there was someone else out there for him. This didn't help much with his mood.

"Yeah…maybe…" Ron repeated himself, realizing Harry wasn't going to say anything.

He got up slowly, and walked over to the wardrobe. He got changed into his pajamas and hopped back into bed. Harry still had an unreadable expression on his face.

It took Harry awhile to show any signs of life. He got to his feet and he, too, changed into his pajamas. He laid on his bed, but didn't fall asleep. His hand rubbed the fading scar on his forehead. It wasn't hurting him like it used to. It just felt weird. Like it was trying to tell him something, or someone was coming, but at the same time, telling him not to be afraid of it. It left him very confused. Ron extinguished the candle that was the only source of light in the room. The boys were drowned in darkness.

They both laid there for awhile, not saying anything, trying their best to fall asleep. Finally Harry broke the silence.

"What do you think he's going to do next?"

Ron was caught off guard by this question. This time he knew who Harry was talking about. A shiver ran down his spine.

"I dunno, mate…I dunno…"

Please Review!

Until Later!


	3. Disturbing Diagon Alley

Chapter 2: "Disturbing Diagon Alley"

"I'm late, I'm late, oh God, I'm late, I'm late, I'm late!" Maddy scrambled around her room, looking for her traveling cloak. Her hand grazed the tail of her bushy gray cat, Morgan le Fay. She hissed loudly at the moving fingers.

"Same to you!" Maddy hissed back. She was in a very bad mood, and her temper was not to be tested.

The green cloak was stuffed down between the bed and the wall. Maddy pinched it between her unnaturally long nails, and pulled it out from under the bed. Morgan le Fay batted at the sleeves as they were dragged across the floor.

She tossed the cloak on and she rushed down the stairway, not bothering to button it. As she crashed into the kitchen table, she realized she had entered the wrong room. Now, not only was she late to meet Rizzy, her toes were sore, and there was a jabbing pain in her side. She raced into the parlor and grabbed a handful of silvery dust.

"Rizzy's gonna kill me!" she muttered as she tossed the dust into the roaring fireplace. "Bye Monster!"

"Don't call me that!" Monster called from the top of the stairs.

"You're not my mother!" Everyone seemed to be testing her today. She definitely was not in the mood to battle it out with her foster mother (AKA: Monster). She knew that she had most likely upset her with the last comment, and she was going to have to deal with it when she got home. Under her breath, Maddy groaned. She shook her head, annoyed, and said firmly: "Diagon Alley!"

On the other side of England, Rizzy too, was running late. Her cloak was fastened crookedly around her neck and was hanging off her shoulder. She hurried up the stairs from the basement, glancing at the strange clock that hung on the wall. 10:55. She told Maddy to meet her outside Gringotts at 10: 30.

"Pops! Pops! I'm going to see Maddy in Diagon Alley, okay? I'll be back…when I get back!"

Rizzy's father stood in the kitchen behind a large cauldron. He gazed down his hooked nose at some mixture inside it. Without looking up, he addressed her.

"No you're not. You need to finish that supply of Pepper-up."

Rizzy swung into the doorway of the kitchen, holding on to one of the sides for support. "We're out of armadillo bile, unicorn horn _and_ lacewing flies…all needed for Pepper-up. Oh! And Sanguis is sick, so we're not getting any Coral Venom anytime soon. I need to pick up something to make him feel better."

Her father peered at her, and sighed; "All right, but don't get lost…"

Rizzy tapped the side of her head, signaling that she'd remember. She hurried down the hall to the dining room. A small pot of the same silvery dust sat on a high shelf. She reached up and grabbed a handful of dust, casting it into the fire quickly.

"Bye Pops!" she hopped into the fire, which had turned a bright shade of green. "Diagon Alley!"

Rizzy's feet hit hard on the ground.

_Floopowder…whoever had that brilliant idea?_

Still shaken from the "ride", Rizzy looked up and down the busy side street of Diagon Alley. Her eyes were open wide as she could see the bustling main street ahead. There were children yelling, witches gossiping over the latest issue of _Witch Weekly_, and older men discussing topics such as Quidditch, Youngsters, and what sounded like something to do with the Ministry of Magic. Rizzy passed a strange group of men who were talking amongst themselves about something that seemed rather important. A scrawny old man who was balding on top, looked quite jittery and his voice was very high-pitched.

She couldn't help but wonder what everyone was so…anxious…about. Nobody seemed to be acting normally. But of course, she had to take into consideration that she was standing in the middle of a packed street, filled with hundreds of witches and wizards. Nothing could be normal.

Ahead of her, she could see a very tall man standing outside Gringotts. As Rizzy approached him, she realized that this man could not possibly be human. He looked like a giant…or what she had seen of giants in books in things. She had obviously never seen a _real_ giant. This man _looked_ nice though. She walked up to him and attempted to get his attention.

"Hello? Hello! Can you hear me? Excuse me, sir! Can you help me?"

The man looked down at her over his scraggly beard. He smiled warmly.

"Did yeh say yeh needed help?"

Rizzy nodded. She was right, this man _was_ nice. "Yes, sir. You see, I'm supposed to meet one of my friends here…only, I was running late, and then my Pops, you see, he stopped me right before I was trying to leave, and then I finally got here by Floopowder, which, for the record, I hate to take. Now, I'm here at Gringotts, where I told her I would meet her roughly a half an hour ago, and I can't seem to find her anywhere…and I should probably breathe now…"  
A hand clapped on Rizzy's shoulder. "Yeah, that would probably be a good idea."  
Rizzy turned around to see her best friend standing behind her. Maddy smiled happily as she tossed her arms around Rizzy.

"I am so sorry I'm late!" They said in unison, breaking out into giggles afterward.

"Is this yer friend?"

Rizzy had forgotten about the really tall man. Maddy hadn't noticed him at all, which was really saying something, as this man…(well, you know the story…). Rizzy nodded and smiled at him.

"Yes, thank you very much…"

"I didn' do anythin'."

Maddy stood beside Rizzy, with her arm around her shoulders. "You let her babble. Thank you. Not many of us would let her do that. We usually try to shut her up somehow, and someone, more often than not, has some bodily damage done…" Maddy sighed, "Usually it's me." She smiled at Rizzy. Rizzy smirked.

The two girls headed up the steps to the massive white building that was Gringotts bank. Maddy had gotten the key to her mother and father's vault in the mail. She was rather upset that the letter did not contain any other information.

Rizzy slipped a small card out of her pocket and showed it to Maddy. "You think they take Visa?"

Maddy shook her head sadly, "If they don't, I'm screwed." There was a distinct tone of sarcasm in her voice.

Rizzy noticed it, and mocked offense. "I'm serious…"

Rizzy stepped up to one of the goblins that worked behind the desks. She had been trying to find one who looked slightly happier, but they all seemed rather uninviting. Quickly she shoved the card into her pocket.

She cleared her throat loudly, "Excuse me, we'd like to get to our vaults please…"  
Maddy rolled her eyes. Rizzy was only polite around people she didn't know. She was not like this at all when she actually knew the person.

The goblin looked at her through beady eyes. "Key please."

Rizzy pulled a small silver key out of her pocket. Maddy saw her hand gently brush the credit card in her pocket. She shook her head and Rizzy resisted the urge to pull it out. Maddy tried to fish hers out of one of her many pockets. Maddy's key was made of gold and had a small gem attached to the handle of it. The goblin took both of them, and looked them over. His eyes widened as he noticed the gem. He gazed up at Maddy in disbelief.

"You're a Black?"  
Maddy was shocked that he asked her that. More so, that he knew who she was just by looking at a key to a bank vault. She nodded nervously. The goblin narrowed his eyes, and nodded in return. He called to another goblin in the back to come and take the two girls to their vaults. When he handed the other goblin the key to Maddy's vault, his jaw dropped and he looked up at her. Rizzy could tell that Maddy was starting to become really uncomfortable. Why did everyone know who she was? It was kind of creepy.

The second goblin nodded and headed off toward the back of the bank. Rizzy followed him, dragging Maddy along behind her. They were brought down into what looked like a mineshaft. There was a small cart, and lots of tracks. Maddy's stomach turned as the goblin told them to get inside. Rizzy sat beside Maddy and they tried to see what was beyond the tracks in front of them. Everything was twisting and turning, and it was very difficult to see what way the track went.

The cart started off at what seemed to be a slow pace, but apparently it was only warming up. The goblin informed them that the cart only had one speed and there was no way he could slow it down. The twists and turns were horrible and they made Maddy's stomach do some kind of gymnastics routine. Rizzy, however, was having the time of her life.

"Maddy! Put your hands in the air! Come on, it's fun!"

The goblin rolled his eyes, and Maddy shook her head. She had closed her mouth tight and was hoping that they would reach the vaults soon. But then it dawned on her that they needed to go back in the same cart. Before she could moan, the cart came to a crashing halt.

"Vault 296."

Rizzy stepped out behind the goblin and approached the large iron door. The goblin shoved the key into the keyhole and turned it. The door swung open and Rizzy stepped inside. From what Maddy could see, Rizzy's family was rather wealthy. There were piles of gold, silver and bronze covering almost every inch of the vault floor.

She returned with a sack of money, looking quite happy. Maddy figured Rizzy had no idea just quite how rich she was. The goblin hopped back in and the cart was off again. After a couple of twists and turns, the cart came to another sudden stop.

"Vault 473."

The vault door looked identical to the one that concealed Rizzy's vault. Maddy climbed over Rizzy and followed the goblin to the door. He held the key carefully, as if he cherished it. He slid it gently into the keyhole and turned. Whatever Maddy had been expecting to see in the vault, was nothing compared to what was really there. It turns out Rizzy's family wasn't the only rich family around. There were stacks and stacks of gold and silver. There wasn't a bronze Knut to be seen anywhere. She could even see some kind of jewels in one corner. Maddy turned to look at Rizzy, who was equally dumbstruck in the cart. Maddy shoveled some gold into her sack and hurried out of the vault, looking rather embarrassed. She didn't want to brag about how much money she had, but she was filthy, stinking rich. It was as if she was almost royalty.

The ride back seemed to be shorter than the one to the vaults. Rizzy wondered why that always seemed to be the case. She made it quite clear that she could never understand that, for she had started in on another one of her rants. Maddy rolled her eyes and patted her friend's knee sadly.

Maddy was all too happy when the cart rolled to a stop. She stepped off, followed by Rizzy and the goblin. The goblin returned to the front of the bank through a small door that was obviously not meant for anyone other than the goblins. Rizzy shoved open the large door that led to the long hallway where the rest of the goblins were.

As they stepped out into the busy street of Diagon Alley, Maddy breathed in the smell of the outdoors. Rizzy laughed as Maddy's eyes closed slowly. She held out a hand to help her stay standing. Once she had regained her strength, the two girls continued down the street.

They were discussing the many things they needed to get, when Rizzy suddenly froze. Maddy waved a hand in front of her face, as she continued to stare at something beyond Maddy. Maddy turned to look and see what she was staring at. Her jaw dropped. A bright yellow, orange and red building stood out among the others. Gadgets and gizmos were everywhere in the windows, and there was a flood of teenagers filing through the doors.

WEASLEY'S WIZARD WHEEZES

Is what the bright colored sign over the doorway read.

"Pinch me…" Rizzy muttered.

Maddy reached up, still in her state of shock, and pinched Rizzy's arm. Rizzy cringed.

"OW! Mad! I was using it as a figure of speech!"

Maddy snapped out of her trance, "What?" Rizzy shook her head and rubbed the spot on her arm where Maddy had pinched her.

The two of them entered the store and immediately started looking around. Everything seemed so fun and mischievous. It was a store completely for them. It was packed with every mayhem-making device that they could ever imagine possible. Occasionally, they would find some items that they found needed something to make them better. Suddenly, a red-haired boy came around one of the shelves and stopped in front of them.

"Hi, my name is Forge. I'm part owner of this place. How may I help you _lovely_ ladies?"

Maddy looked sideways at Rizzy, who was equally confused about the name he had given them.

"Forge?" Maddy's eyebrows raised.

The boy laughed and leaned on the shelf. "The name's George Weasley." He said, shaking each of the girls' hands in turn. "My twin brother, Fred, is over there." He pointed to somewhere toward the back of the shop. "It's a little joke we play."

A small smiled crept across Rizzy's lips. Maddy knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Fred and George Washington…"

George looked at the two girls curiously, "Who?"

"You've never heard of Fred and George Washington?" Maddy shook her head sadly. "Never mind. I'm Maddy and this is my friend Rizzy. So…" she looked around the shop. "How long have you owned this place? You don't look that old."

George shrugged. "Eh…a couple of months…not too long, but business is booming."

Maddy nodded in agreement. Rizzy looked around once again. She wouldn't be one to agree so quickly. Rizzy noticed everything. Every…single…thing….

"I can see that…" she started slowly. "But…"

Maddy knew what was coming. Rizzy was about to say something that would probably get them kicked out of the store and banned from Diagon Alley. Or something worse…

"No offense meant or anything…but some of your products could use a little tweaking…"

Maddy braced for the blow.

George looked slightly offended, "T-Tweaking?" His fingers danced across the shelf that held the Fake Wands. A mixture of offense and curiosity spread across his face.

Maddy walked over to the display that held the Headless Hats, deciding that they couldn't be kicked out for making consumer suggestions. "Yeah, like these Headless Hats. They don't even come in all the colors. What if you like Orange hats?"

George pointed to a hat sitting on a cushion, "But we have ora-"

Maddy cut him off, "That's not what I meant. Look." She picked up a pink-feathered hat and rolled it around with her fingers. "What do they do? Make you headless?" She tossed it on top of her head. Immediately her head disappeared. Her voice came out of nowhere. "Typical." She pulled the hat off and tossed it back on the display. "You know, you can charm it to make your hands and feet disappear too. Now, that would be a scream."

George couldn't seem to find the right words, "R-Really?"

Rizzy loved every minute of this. She walked over to where George was standing and picked up one of the packages of Fake Wands. "Yeah, and these Fake Wands…they're too…how do I put it? 'One Use Only'. You should make it so you can use it over and over. However…" her eyes were caught by a barrel of toffee by the door. "These are ingenious. 'Ton-Tongue Toffee'. So simple in their makeup." She picked one up curiously. "An engorgement charm, I suppose? How juvenile…I love it!" her face broke into a toothy grin.

George called over his shoulder to his brother, "F-Fred? Come here for a sec! I want you to meet someone." He paused for a moment as Maddy glared at him, "Uh…make that _two_ someones."

A boy identical to George made his way across the shop. Fred Weasley stood beside his brother and looked at the two girls standing in front of them.

"Who are they?"

George pointed to each of the girls as he introduced them. "This is Maddy and this is Rizzy."

Both of the girls nodded in greeting. Fred pretended to tip and invisible hat. Maddy smothered a chuckle. She really liked Fred. There was an air around him that seemed more outgoing than his brother's. Rizzy however, was fascinated with George. She couldn't really explain it, but Fred seemed more bigheaded than George did, and she really didn't like that about him.

George ventured to tell his brother what the girls had told him, "They've just been telling me how we could improve our products."

Fred looked bewildered. "I-Improve them? What's wrong with them?"

George looked at his brother, "Listen to them…" he turned so only Fred could hear him; "They've got some good ideas…"

Maddy and Rizzy heard them anyway. They grinned at each other. George turned back to the girls.

"So, uh…why don't we split up. We can cover more of the store that way. Fred, you can go with Maddy, and I'll go with Rizzy…"

Rizzy moved quickly to George's side, and Maddy blushed as Fred offered her, his arm. She took it graciously and they headed off toward the back of the store. Rizzy winked at Maddy over her shoulder. Maddy shook her head and looked up at Fred, who smiled.

George however, didn't feel like talking about the products. He had never seen either of these girls and he was very curious to find out where they were from. Rizzy was also very inquisitive about the boys they had met.

"So…" Rizzy started, "When did you graduate from school?"

George bit his lip, "Er…well, we didn't exactly, 'graduate' from school…we sort of…well…left."

"So you dropped out…"

"Yeah…I guess you could pretty much say that."

"Why?"

"We couldn't stand the teachers…well, one of them in particular…but we felt that we had had enough teaching we needed to run the joke shop…"

Rizzy didn't know how to react with this. She wanted to think it was awesome, but she didn't approve of people dropping out of school. She may have been a mischief-maker, but she was still really good in school.

Meanwhile, Fred was trying to make conversation with Maddy.

"If you'll look over here, we have the Canary Creams…"

Maddy looked horrorstruck. "They don't taste like real Canaries, do they?"

Fred laughed, "No, no, no, no…they just turn you into one for a few minutes."

Maddy shifted her shoulder blades and chuckled nervously, "I think I'm all set…"

Fred clapped his hands together and turned to face Maddy, "So…we've walked around this end of the store, and we've talked about each of the products we've passed…" he thought for a moment. "Well…kind of…but I still don't know anything about you. How old are you?"

Maddy didn't answer right away. She could have lied. But that would turn her into the one thing she didn't want to become. A liar. "I'm sixteen."

Fred nodded, "I have a brother who's sixteen…do you know him? Ron Weasley?"

Maddy shook her head; "I don't know anybody here yet. I just moved here…with my-er-Mum…and Rizzy…"

Fred's eyes widened, "Oh, you're sisters?"

Maddy shook her head quickly, "Oh, no! We're friends, actually…close friends…we transferred here from the Salem Witches Institute."

Fred looked confused, "Where's that?"

Maddy smiled, "In Salem, Massachusetts." Maddy thought it was such an obvious question. Fred didn't seem too bright.

"Oh…" he said, acting as if he understood, "Where's that?"

Maddy shook her head sadly. Fred smiled innocently.

Rizzy and George were deep in conversation on their side of the shop.

"Wow…so you have a pet snake? That's awesome. I'm not sure if they let you bring them to Hogwarts though…I don't think the school has a very good background with snakes."

Rizzy nodded, "I know. If they don't let me bring him, my dad is going to 'adopt' him." She winked, just so George would get the message.

"That's nice of him…I'll tell ya. My dad will never go near a snake ever again…"

Rizzy looked at him curiously, "Really? Why not?"

George looked uncomfortable. He shuffled his foot against the floor. "He got bit by one last year…" he didn't look like he wanted to go into detail.

Rizzy's face fell, "Oh. I'm sorry…Sanguis wouldn't bite anyone…not, unless I told him to of course…"

George looked at her curiously.

"I'm a parselmouth…" she said proudly.

George's eyes widened. "Really!"

Rizzy nodded, her eyes flashing green.

"Wow…I have a friend who's a parselmouth…he got in a lot of trouble a couple years back…everyone thought he was attacking these kids…he's like my bro's best mate. You might meet him. I think my Mum said she'd bring them out here today."

Fred was scrounging for something to say. "So, what's your surname?"

Maddy wasn't sure if she wanted to answer him. She hadn't gotten the best response so far when people knew her last name. She looked at Fred who was waiting patiently.

"Black," she said simply.

Fred's reaction was different, but Maddy didn't take it any better than everyone else's reactions. Fred's face fell and he looked like he was on the verge of asking a difficult question. More so for him, than for her.

"Are you related to-" he changed his mind quickly. "Never mind…" he said abruptly.

Maddy stood in front of him, "Do you know somebody with that last name?"

Fred shook his head, "No…no…"

Maddy raised one of her eyebrows, "Fred…I know you're lying. Trust me…I'm good at these things."  
Fred laughed, "Oh are you! Haha…well now, I guess I can't come up with excuses around you." He smiled. "Your Mum and Dad must find that annoying. They can't hide anything from you."

Maddy frowned, "My Mum and Dad are dead."

Fred looked embarrassed, "Oh…I'm sorry. You just said earlier you moved here with your Mum…"

"My foster Mum…"

"Oh…" Fred's ears went red, "I have another friend who's an orphan. His parents were murdered though…"

"Oh that's terrible!" Maddy felt really bad for Fred's friend, but she felt a little better that she wasn't the only orphan around in the wizarding world. She had been starting to feel alone.

George was telling Rizzy about the school, "You'll like the school. The teachers are pretty cool, oh wait! Except for one, who's just a slimy ol' git."

Rizzy's curiosity peaked, "Who?"

"He's the potions professor. Snape. You'll have to watch out-"

"Rizzy, I think I'm ready to go now."

Maddy appeared at Rizzy's side. Rizzy nodded. She had just been thinking the same thing.

"Yes, yes…I do believe we need to be going now. It was nice talking to you boys…Mr. Weasley." She nodded in George's direction, "Mr. Weasley." This time to Fred, "It has been a pleasure. We must be off."

Maddy could hear the tone of unusual politeness in Rizzy's voice, which meant she was uncomfortable again. The twins reached out their hands to say good bye to the girls, but they were already out the door.

Out in the street the hurrying girls slowed down. Rizzy's mind was reeling with many thoughts and a strange sensation traveled down Maddy's spine.

"Did it suddenly just feel really awkward in there, or is it just me?" Rizzy asked.

"For you too?" Maddy was glad she wasn't the only one. "I think there was something that Fred guy wasn't telling me."

Rizzy shivered, "Twins…"

"You should have seen the history there! Oh, the sights were amazing…I suppose I would have wanted to go to Egypt instead, like you Ron, but…"

"Yeah, Egypt was great…" Tall, gangling, befreckled Ron Weasley smiled as he took a trip down Memory Lane.

"Yeah, Egypt…India…great. Know where I went last summer?" A tall black-haired boy said sarcastically as the trio approached 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes'.

"Harry…" Hermione Granger said warningly.

"Where!" Ron asked happily. He was almost certain Harry had been at the Dursley's, (his horrid aunt and uncle) for a good part of the summer…and then he came to Grimmauld Place. Something just wasn't clicking.

Both Harry and Hermione glared at him. He looked innocently back at the two of them, before realizing how stupid he had just been. Hermione shook her head and opened the front door to the shop. Fred and George were still talking about Maddy and Rizzy.

"Hey, there you guys are!" George said cheerily.

"We were hoping you guys would be coming along. You know, if you had come sooner, you'd have met some really awesome girls."

Ron's face brightened, "Really?"

Hermione glanced at Ron, "Don't be a prat, Ron. They're lying."

"We are not!" the twins said indignantly.

Hermione narrowed her eyes. She was used to Fred and George's tricks. "What are their names?"

"Maddy!" Fred said quickly.

"Rizzy!" George answered smugly.

Hermione crossed her arms; "How old are they?"

Fred and George looked at each other. "Sixteen, actually…" Fred said.

This time it was Harry who scoffed. "Sure Fred…some sixteen-year-olds we don't already know…"

Fred and George were losing them. "They transferred here from…er…Salem…"

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Salem? America?"

Mrs. Weasley came bustling through the door and spotted the teenagers. "Oh here you are! Hello Fred, dear…George, darling…" she kissed her twins on their cheeks. She looked around at the rest of them. "What's going on here?"

"Fred and George were just telling us about their invisible girlfriends…" Ron said with a mocking tone in his voice.

"You know, Fred…Angelina's not going to like this…" Harry said tauntingly.

George looked embarrassed. "They are not invisible…and they are not our girlfriends!"

"And if you tell Angelina anything, Harry…I'll kill you…" Fred warned.

Mrs. Weasley was busying herself with dusting some of the shelves. "It is getting quite dusty in here…you really should go around and clean up sometimes…"

"We do…"

"Well I'm ready to go…how 'bout you guys?" Ron said, now sounding bored.

Harry and Hermione nodded. Ron turned to his mother.

"Mum, we're going to go and get something to eat…like at Florean Fortescue's or something…"

Mrs. Weasley nodded, "Yes, yes…very well dears, you have a good time…and don't get lost!"

The three of them headed out the door into the busy street outside. Ron leaned in close to Harry and Hermione.

"We've been coming here for like…five years…how the hell are we going to get lost?"

"All right, we have our books…potion ingredients…other school stuff…I have Sanguis's tonic…you have your owl…" Maddy patted a small covered cage that concealed a brown and white speckled owl she had gotten at the _Magical Menagerie_. "So…that leaves…what?"

Maddy peered at a sign over a small shop to their left. "Ice cream?"

Rizzy looked to where Maddy was indicating. "Ice cream sounds good…"

Maddy handed Rizzy her owl and her books. "Hold on a second. I have to go to the bathroom. There was one in that shop back there. I'll be right back!"

Maddy raced back down the street, leaving Rizzy to herself.

"I'm sure there's a bathroom inside…" Rizzy muttered to an invisible listener, "But no…that would be difficult and inconvenient to where we were going…"

Maddy reached a small shop and asked to use their lavatory. As she was heading back, she accidentally ran into a man wearing very shabby robes. He stopped and muttered his apologies to Maddy. She noticed that despite how young he looked, his hair was grayish.

"I'm so sorry…" she said quickly.

The man didn't respond. His gray eyes were focused on hers. It was almost as if he had seen a ghost. He didn't believe what he was seeing.

_Those eyes…I know those eyes…_

He was staring at her, and Maddy didn't like it. She hurried off past the man, without another word. He turned to look after her.

Remus Lupin muttered to himself, "No…it can't be…"

Maddy reached Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, where Rizzy was still standing outside. Maddy apologized for taking so long and the two girls went inside. Rizzy ordered a banana split with extra whipped cream. Maddy got her usual of Black Raspberry with Honeyduke's chocolate pieces in it. (SWI, the Salem's Witches Institute, used to serve it as a dessert occasionally.) They sat down at a small round table under a big, striped umbrella, outside.

Moments after the girls sat down, Harry, Ron and Hermione entered the shop, ordered their ice creams, and sat down at the table next to Rizzy and Maddy. They were in deep conversation about the upcoming school year.

"I wonder who our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor will be." Harry said as he slid into the chair next to Ron.

"I don't care who they are, just as long as it's not Umbridge." Ron said while twirling his spoon in his fingers. Finally, he plunged it into his Peanut Butter and Raspberry Ice Cream.

Hermione looked at her two friends curiously; "Has anyone heard what's become of her?"

"Nope…" Harry replied quickly. "And to be completely honest…I don't care…"

Ron swallowed a huge mouthful of ice cream; "Maybe the centaurs have found her…be a nice den ornament…"

Hermione looked appalled, "RON!" Harry laughed.

At the next table, Rizzy was looking through one of her books while eating her ice cream. Maddy was swirling her spoon around and around in her own, now soupy, ice cream.

"I was thinking…once we're done here, maybe we can go and get our quills and stuff…and then…hey…hey, what's wrong?" Rizzy noticed Maddy's unusual behavior.

Maddy looked up quickly. "What? Oh…it's nothing…"

Rizzy knew she was lying, "Was it about your family?"

Maddy stopped swirling her spoon and looked at Rizzy, "I think Fred knew something…but he wouldn't tell me…"

Rizzy shrugged. "Probably didn't…he was just leading you on or something. Now that George character…he was warning me about-"

"But what about those goblins…they were acting so strange…" Maddy butt in.

"I dunno…" Rizzy took a bite of her ice cream. A little bit gets on her nose, but she doesn't notice it. "There are some weird things going on here…"

Maddy tries to stifle a giggle, "What do you mean?"

"Everyone seems so…tense…like they're expecting something to happen. I saw a couple of older wizards back there, huddled together, whispering about something." She waved her spoon around as she talked. This made Maddy want to laugh even more. Rizzy looked at Maddy as if she were mad. "What's the matter with you?"

Maddy couldn't keep it in anymore. Rizzy just looked so ridiculous. "Y-Your nose!"

Rizzy holds up her spoon to look at her reflection. "Oh my god…" she laughs and wipes it away quickly. "Thank you very much for telling me…"

Maddy straightened up in her seat; "I was going to let you walk out of here like that…but I thought I'd spare you the ridicule."

"Ohh thank you. That is so thankful." Rizzy responded in mock gratitude.

"I don't get it…" Harry's voice rose from the next table.

"Neither do I," said Ron, "But you know what's great? Fudge is like…out of the picture. Stupid git. Maybe we'll have an M.O.M that actually knows what he's talking about."

"Or she…" Hermione said, looking affronted.

Ron brushed her off, "Yeah whatever…"

"I wonder who they're gonna give the job to." Harry interrupted, before Ron and Hermione bit off each other's heads. "Your dad would be good for the job…" he said to Ron.

"Yeah, keep dreaming…" Ron scoffed, "The day my dad becomes Minister of Magic…is the day I stop liking this ice cream." He shoved a spoonful into his mouth. "Nope, still good…" he said with his mouth full.

Hermione sighed. "Sometimes I swear we lost you back in our first year…gone…bye bye…never to grow up…always stuck in a simpler time…"

"Simpler?" Harry laughed, "I don't think much has changed for any of us. I mean…Ron's still an idiot…I still have a 'saving people thing'…". Hermione beamed. "And you are still the brightest witch in the entire school. Nope…not much has changed."

Hermione sighed again. "True…true…"

Ron stares at the ice cream, slowly realizing what Harry had just said. "HEY!" he said, looking offended.

Harry laughed and picked up the cherry from his sundae in his spoon. Carefully, he aimed it at Ron, and launched it into the air. It hit Ron on the cheek. Hermione burst into a fit of giggles.

As Ron was attempting to get Harry back for the cherry, Rizzy rolled her eyes at their immaturity.

"Boys…I swear…" she said looking back at Maddy.

"School's going to be interesting this year…" Maddy said hastily, "I mean, having boys there and all…"

"Sure is…" Rizzy agreed. "We won't have to sneak over the school walls to get to the boys school across town at three in the morning…"

Maddy smirked, "We only did that once…"

Rizzy looked mischievous, "Maybe _you_ did…I can recall several times…"

Maddy shook her head, "I hope there are some cute boys there…"

Rizzy smiled, "Even if there isn't, you'll find someone to obsess over."

Maddy looked insulted. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You can't go one year without liking someone…."

"I just happen to be overly romantic…hey, I'm sorry…" Maddy held up her hands innocently.

"Then, why haven't you had a boyfriend before now?"

Rizzy had crossed the line. Now it was getting personal. "Just because I don't date five guys at the same time and hope that none of them meet each other and mess it up for me, doesn't mean I don't have boyfriends occasionally…"

Rizzy's eyes now flashed red. She narrowed them slowly. "Were you implying something there?"  
Maddy acted shocked, "Ding! Ding! Ding! That's right, she can be taught!"

Rizzy laughed and shook her head at their ridiculousness. "I'm sure that there is someone out there who will catch your fancy…someone good looking…someone sweet…someone like…" her eyes were caught by someone by the doorway, "him…"

Maddy looked over her shoulder to see a tall, hunky boy coming through the doors. He had short brown hair, and was wearing what looked like Quidditch robes. He was very good looking indeed, and Maddy could tell Rizzy was immediately smitten.

"Helloo, sweet and salty goodness…." Rizzy muttered to herself. "Now he…is fine. Oh, come over here…come here…no, not that way!"

The tall boy walked over to the table beside them, where the other boys and the girl were sitting. Rizzy crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Hey Oliver!" Harry greeted his old Quidditch captain.

Oliver Wood smiled, "Harry! Hey, nice to see you again."

Rizzy was still staring at the boy, "Whatever…he looks too old for me anyway…"

Maddy sighed. "And you call me pathetic…"

Rizzy looked at her quickly, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Maddy shrugged, "I'm just saying that sometimes, when it comes to guys…you're worse than me…"

Rizzy shook her head, "That's not true…"

"Yes it is…"

"No it's not…"

"Yes…"

"Nooo…"

"So, Harry…how are you?" Oliver asked as he took the seat next to Hermione.

"I'm good…" Harry responded. He was happy to see Oliver. He hadn't seen him in two years. "How's Quidditch?"

Oliver frowned, "Not so good. This is the only day I have off this week. We're having so many practices. I feel so bad for you guys now…I hope I wasn't this bad." He shook his head. "Anyway, how's the team doing at Hogwarts? How'd you do last year?"  
"Well…" Harry started slowly, "We…er…well, we won…"

Ron smiled broadly, "Thanks to me!"

Oliver looked at Ron briefly and then turned back to Harry, who was looking slightly embarrassed.

"I was kicked off the team…so were Fred and George…Angelina wasn't too happy…"

Oliver looked horrified, "WHAT! Why?"

Harry rubbed the back of his neck, "I…_might_…have punched Malfoy."

Oliver smiled grimly, "Slimy git probably deserved it. Are you going to be able to play this year?"

Harry shook his head, "I don't know. I hope so…"

Hermione spoke up, "You should be able to Harry. With Umbridge gone and all…Dumbledore'll let you play…"

Ron nodded in agreement. Oliver looked down at his watch.

"Oh crap! I have to go! I was supposed to meet someone like ten minutes ago. I have a fitting for new robes." He tugged at his own robes, "these are getting kinda old…Anyway, it's been great seeing you guys…good luck next year Harry!"

Harry nodded, "Yeah, bye Oliver!"

Ron and Hermione nodded in farewell.

"Bye…"

"See ya…"

Harry pushed his bowl away from him, "Well, I'm done. You guys want to go check out Quality Quidditch Supplies?"

Ron smiled widely. "Sure!"

Hermione moaned, "_Again?_"

The three of them got up and headed for the exit. Hermione was lagging behind. Before they had come to Florean's, they had stopped at Quality Quidditch Supplies to look at new broom attachments and gadgets.

"You know what…I need to start hanging out with some girls…" Hermione said as they turned left down the street.

"What's wrong with us?" Ron asked innocently. "We're more fun than any stupid girls…"

Hermione smacked him upside the head.

"Ow…"

Maddy stared the soupy mess left in her bowl. Her appetite was gone. "You ready to go?"  
Rizzy nodded as she picked up her bowl. "Yeah…sure…back to school shopping…oh joy…"

Maddy knew that it was going to be difficult to get Rizzy back into the spirit of shopping for new school supplies. Suddenly, an idea hit her.

"You know…we might see the cute boy again…"

Rizzy's face lit up. "You think so?" she picked up Maddy's bowl quickly and tossed both of them into a nearby trashcan. It burped loudly as Rizzy turned back to Maddy. "Well…what are we waiting for? Come on!"

She grabbed Maddy's hand and they raced down the street oddly, with their purchases under their arms. Rizzy peered anxiously into the windows of each of the shops they passed, hoping to get a glimpse of the really cute Quidditch player. Maddy smiled happily at her friend. She was happy to know that no matter what happened to them, they would always be there for each other.

Maddy froze as she passed a group of middle age witches and wizards. Her eyes widened as she heard clips of what they were saying. Rizzy turned to see why Maddy had stopped. She heard it too. A frizzy haired witch, who was holding a copy of the _Daily Prophet_ in her hands, was speaking nervously.

"So, it's really true then is it?"

A man in a blue bowler hat nodded, "I knew it from the beginning…I told you…didn't I, Tom?"

Tom, an older man in a long black cloak, nodded. "Yes…yes…he's back…and it's war…just like last time…"


	4. Platform 9 34

Platform 9 ¾

A/N- Ok, thank you people for reviewing! (Even though 2 of them were from the co-authors. Heh) The characters will have flaws like normal people. If you want to see their profiles they are in my profile. (Does that make sense?)

"…" – talking

_'…'_ – thoughts

Disclaimer- We do not own anything affiliated with the Harry Potter Empire. (Except for stuff we bought:) Although we would love too…

Also this story will probably be considered Alternate Reality since we won't be taking much from the 6th book. Not that it wasn't good, but it would change a lot of things we planned.

Everywhere, there was the sound of whistling trains and the chattering of passengers getting on and off trains. Among the chaos Harry, Ron and Hermione were together chatting, as they put their belongings onto the trolleys.

"Oh, I can't believe we are in sixth year already, we have to keep on schedule for our NEWTs, which means no skipping homework you two." Hermione looked at them sternly, before continuing. "There is going to be so much to study this year, we are probably going to get a lot of homework, Harry I don't care if you were made Quidditch Captain…you are going to do your work…."

Ron and Harry looked at each other; _'Hermione is on a rant'_ was going through both of their minds. The trio pushed their trolleys to the gate of Platform 9 ¾, Hermione still going on about the NEWTs and Ron and Harry, silent. Once through the gate, the noise changed. It was still cheerful and light, but instead of hearing about the weather or what time the train to Worcester leaves, there was about Quidditch and new potion ingredients.

"Come on then, we have to find a compartment." Harry said gamely as he began to drag his trunk down the rows of carriages. This broke Hermione out of her rant.

"Oh, Harry we _can_ find a compartment with you but we have to go to the Prefect's carriage" explained Hermione with a rueful grin. "But it's only for a little while, remember? Then we'll come sit with you until we have to patrol."

"Yeah, sorry about that mate." Ron said sheepishly.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about that….it's alright…" mumbled Harry as he pinned on a grin, "You guys have your job, so I guess I'll see you later then." He finished as he set off to find a compartment.

"Oh, will he be alright?" asked Hermione worriedly.

"He'll be fine…." replied Ron.

"Wow, I can't believe we are finally going to Hogwarts." exclaimed Maddy.

"I can't believe I am finally back in England! It feels good to be home." grinned Rizzy.

"Yeah, well we better get to the train, what was the gate again?" inquired Maddy.

"It's Platform 9 ¾ and don't worry we have time."

"Yes, but don't you want to get a good seat?"

Rizzy shrugs, "As long as we are on the train it doesn't matter….but yeah, I would like us to be able to find a compartment."

Maddy and Rizzy walked along the platforms at Kings Cross, "Ok, platform two…three…four." Maddy counted off the platforms.

"Do you need to count them all?" Rizzy asked exasperatedly.

"No…" Maddy said guiltily, looking up at the newest platforms. "Hey, here is nine and ten. So…" she paused for a second to look around, "How do we get through again?"

"We walk through the barrier, as inconspicuously as possible." Rizzy whispered back, looking nervously at the bustling Muggles around them.

Rizzy and Maddy began chatting about nonsense things as they headed toward the gateway. With a faint whoosh they were through. All of a sudden their ears were assaulted by a tumult of noise. Owls hooting, the train whistling, students chattering, parents reminding their children not to go crazy, just to name a few.

"Now, Neville don't forget to write….." An older woman to their left said as she kissed, what looked like her grandson, on the cheek. Rizzy casually glanced at the boy before being dragged away toward the train.

"Wow…..look how many people there are….there wasn't this many at Salem…." Maddy's eyes were huge.

"You forget, Hogwarts is much larger than Salem. Come on, let's get a compartment" clarified Rizzy.

The two friends dragged their trunks onto the train, and hurried down the crowded corridor, peering into the compartments as they passed. They were looking for an empty compartment, and it took a while but they finally found one. They carefully stored their trunks above them.

"Finally!" Rizzy plopped down onto the seat closest to her, "How long till the train leaves?"

"About two minutes…" Maddy answered, checking her watch.

They felt the lurching of the train, as it began to move. Maddy looked outside the window as the English landscape began to go by. After a few moments of nonsense chitchat, mainly about what had happened in Diagon Alley, silence fell. Maddy's mind did not seem to be with her at the moment. Rizzy, who was tired of looking at Maddy stare out the window, broke the silence.

"Alright! Well I'm gonna find the bathroom. Be back in a few."

"Ok." Maddy said indifferently.

Rizzy entered the corridor, which had become quiet after the train took off.

_Hmm where is it?_

Ron was heading back to the compartment Harry and Ginny had picked out. Hermione had already left the meeting, but the Head Boy and Head Girl asked him to stay behind. They had wanted to talk about "acceptable behavior of Prefects". They had made it clear that if he, at the least, could not get along with Malfoy in order to do Prefect duties, then they would seriously think of taking away his badge.

"Lousy, unthinkable…me get along with that ferret? Never!" mumbled Ron to himself. Then he hit something.

"Oof..."

Thunk

"Ow…what hit me?" Rizzy looked up.

"What hit you? You hit me!" Ron seethed. He knew he probably shouldn't but he wasn't in a really good mood now anyway.

"No, you hit me!" Rizzy retaliated.

"No, you did!"

The two of them glared at each other, and sparks flew (angry ones).

Ron wasn't in the mood to deal with this and knew the Head Boy and Girl would definitely not be happy with him if he fought now, so he just walked past the infuriating girl.

Rizzy's jaw dropped.

_Of all the nerve!_

She had half a mind to go back and curse him good, then she realized something and a smirk appeared on her face.

_Oh yes I have all year to deal with that problem…_

With that in mind she continued her quest.

"Oh, you're back! What did they want?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Warning me not to get in anymore fights with Malfoy or else they would take my badge." He ground out.

"Oh...did they issue the same warning to Malfoy?" she asked.

"I dunno…They better have or I'm going to…never mind." He shook his head angrily. "Then someone ran into me and had the…the ..nerve to say it was my fault."

"Really? And what did you say?" asked Hermione, a faint glint in her eyes.

"It wasn't my fault they ran into me…so I just came back here."

"Ah, forget about it for now…here have a chocolate frog." Harry handed him the proffered frog, while giving Hermione a look.

"Thanks, mate"

Hermione gave an exasperated sigh "Already getting into trouble…and we aren't even at school…"

"…."

Neither of the boys had an answer for that.

The trio plus Ginny sat for a few moments, before Ginny asked the question they had all been wondering about.

"So, do you think we'll have a DADA teacher this year? After everything that has happened so far…I would believe it if Dumbledore said he couldn't find a willing teacher."

"Yeah, I know what you mean…" mused Harry.

"So that means no DADA lessons? Well Harry, guess you're going to just teach again." said a grinning Ron.

"Oh, honestly! If Professor Dumbledore doesn't find a willing DADA teacher, then Professor Snape will be able to have the position, and all Dumbledore has to do is find a Potions master. Since the Potions post isn't "cursed" he'd probably find a new Potions Master." explained Hermione with a faint roll of her eyes.

Both Harry and Ron's faces looked stricken. It looked like all the blood was draining from them. The _horror! Snape?_ As the _Defense Against the Dark Arts _professor? Ginny repressed a giggle at the look on their faces. Although, she too, was a little worried about what would happen.

"**That would mean**…" "Oh my remember how awful he was during that one lesson…" "..**having him teach us defense**…" "That would be mad…he could…Oh! He could do what Moody did with the Imperius Curse…" "**He would rub it in about the werewolves and Lupin**." Both Harry and Ron had been talking at the same time. (AN: for simplicity Harry will be in bold in that convo, and Ron, normal.)

Hermione and Ginny looked at each other. Then they looked at the boys.

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore would have rules… about what he could teach." Ginny said meaning to reassure.

"He never had rules for the other ones, what makes you think he'll start now?" Ron asked slightly panicked.

Rizzy reentered the compartment to find Maddy still staring out the window. Right now, the train was passing a farm, so you could see horses, sheep and cows. Maddy looked up at the sound of the door opening. She smiled at her friend before noting the stormcloud look on her face, plus the mischievous glint in her eyes.

"What's wrong Rizzy? You have this look…it kinda scares me…"

"Oh, some baka ran into me in the hall, and refused to….argh…he said I was to blame…Oh, but don't worry though, we have all year to deal with him…" Rizzy sat down opposite Maddy, looking triumphant.

"Oh, so that look _is_ the mischief look." Maddy grinned, knowing this would be fun for them but not their adversary.

The night was dark and the train pulled to a halt at the station. There was a rush as students began to gather the treats they had purchased from the trolley, and then they all began pouring out of the compartments.

"FIRS' YEARS THIS WAY" "FIRS' YEARS OVER HERE…"

"Um, Rizzy we go over there right?" Maddy said, clutching onto the cage that contained Leo, her new owl.

"Yeah we go with the first years." Rizzy replied, taking into consideration how odd they looked with a bunch of eleven-year-olds.

Rizzy and Maddy walk over to the man yelling for First Years.

"Hi, we are supposed to come with you too. We're the transfers from Salem." Maddy explained.

Rizzy looked at the man for a moment…

"Hey! I recognize you! You were outside Gringotts Bank." She smiled at him.

"Yer the one who talked for awhile in one breath! Nice ter see ya again. Go get inta one o'the boats and then you'll get ta Hogwarts."

Maddy and Rizzy grinned before heading to an empty boat. A few minutes after they go into the boats, two slightly shaking first years got in as well. Rizzy and Maddy smiled warmly at them. The first years did not smile back.

Within a moment or two, the fleet of boats took off from the shore. Maddy and Rizzy looked around appreciatively.

"Wow….." everyone looked at the huge castle in awe. It seemed to sparkle in the night.

"It is most definitely huge…." Maddy murmured.

She saw Rizzy nod next to her. "Huge, yeah…."

Once they clambered inside the castle they were gathered into a room. Rizzy and Maddy looked at each other, exchanging nervous glances. All the first years seemed nervous, and although they were older, some of the nerves were starting to rub off on them, although the two hadn't started pacing like one kid was. The doors opened, and in walked a stern looking woman.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, the sorting ceremony will begin soon. There are four houses and each one has its own history, they have all produced outstanding witches and wizards. While at Hogwarts your triumphs will bring your house points while your mistakes take them away." Professor McGonagall explained to the new students. "I will be back in a few minutes to bring you out." 1

Everyone began talking it was a low buzz of conversation. All of them seem nervous. A boy in the corner was talking about his father being a Slytherin. A small group of first years stood around him listening intently.

"I wonder if we will be sorted with them or separately. What do you think Rizzy?"

"I think you need to shut up…you're making me nervous….." Rizzy hit Maddy's arm, hard. "And would you stop doing that?"

Maddy had been twisting her fingers together, nervously. Immediately, she dropped them to her sides, looking embarrassed.

The doors opened again and Professor McGonagall came back into the room. "All right form a line. Oh! Where are our exchange students?"

Rizzy and Maddy raised their hands, thinking it was a bit odd that Professor McGonagall couldn't already see them.

"You're to be sorted with the first years. Come along." Rizzy and Maddy looked at each other and shrugged and they joined the line. All the first years seemed to be huddling together as though for protection.

_The term safety in numbers comes to mind, _Maddy couldn't help but thinking.

The doors to the Great hall opened and they were greeted with lots of staring eyes. To keep themselves sane, they avoided looking directly at the people. Instead they looked up and were greeted by the night sky, or rather the ceiling that looked like the night sky.

Maddy and Rizzy could feel the rest of the room staring curiously at the two girls who were obviously not first years. A small buzz filled the room, before Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly. They could see a worn old wizard's hat sitting on top of a three-legged stool. Maddy gave a little jump, as the brim opened wide, as if it were a mouth. Suddenly, a reedy voice echoed through the hall, in song.

_Oh, I may be old_

_But as you've been told,_

_With age comes wisdom_

_You see?_

_For many may say, _

_They're well on their way, _

_To becoming as smart, _

_As me._

_But try as they might, _

_They'll never be right, _

_In a job such_

_As this. _

_My gift is to sort, _

_But please don't retort, _

_For I have yet to make _

_A miss._

_Do you belong in Gryffindor, _

_With courage and friends galore,_

_But when it comes to making them_

_You're certainly quick to judge. _

_Or maybe you are a Hufflepuff,_

_Where working is just enough._

_But when it comes to fighting, _

_Surely you wouldn't budge._

_Perhaps Ravenclaw is the one for you_

_The house of wit and learning, it's true!_

_But when it comes to crossing together, _

_You're already across the moat!_

_Lastly, Slytherin, the house of the sly,_

_Where cunning and clever truly lie._

_But, when it comes to things gone bad, _

_You're always the known scapegoat!_

_So there's nothing to fear,_

_Just wait till you hear, _

_The name of the house I call_

_For you._

_I have never yet been wrong, _

_Just listen to my song,_

_Closely, until we're_

_Through._

"All right, when I call your name come up and put the hat on." Professor McGonagall said.

"Ali, Kent"

"HUFFLEPUFF"

The table on the right clapped. A couple of the people stood up and shook his hand. The boy looked relieved to have the experience done and over with.

"Benson, Renée."

"RAVENCLAW"

The table on the far right clapped.

"Simpson, Lynne"

"SYLTHERIN"

The table furthest to the left clapped, while the girl just smirked.

"Wood, Keith"

"GRYFFINDOR"

The table second from the left clapped. "We got Wood's brother" Harry and Ron were chanting.

Dumbledore stood up, and cleared his throat. "I would like to announce for the first time in many years, that we have transfer students. I would like you to welcome our sixth year transfers from Salem Witches Institute." He smiled before sitting down again.

"Black, Madeleine" Professor McGonagall's voice rang throughout the hall.

All of a sudden the entire hall went silent. Maddy looked around bewildered. She was filled with the awful suspicion that everyone knew something she didn't know, again. She put the on the hat, shutting out her view.

"You don't think she's…." Hermione started.

"Hermione…" Ron gave Hermione a look, glancing nervously at Harry.

Harry stared at the girl under the hat. Ginny looked at him worriedly, but did not say a word.

"GRYFFINDOR"

Maddy walked to the Gryffindor table, which was still silent. The silence was starting to get on her nerves. Then, a person began to clap, and others slowly copied.

"Raven, Rizika"

Rizzy walked up with confidence putting the hat on. At the teacher's table, Professor Snape, who had been gazing intently at Maddy, snapped his focus on to Rizzy.

"Hey that's that girl who….who ran into me on the train!" Ron exclaimed "She's….she's annoying…." Ron faltered as Hermione turned to him quickly.

"Ron! That's my friend Rizzy!" Hermione said, whacking him on the head. Ron's head hit the plate then bounced hitting a fork. "I haven't seen her in ages…"

"Oww…Hermy that hurt…what…I'm bleeding." The fork had poked his cheek making a small puncture wound.

Hermione pressed her fingers against Ron's cheek and peered at the wound. "Oh, Ron, don't be ridiculous…you'll be fine."

Maddy looked at Rizzy and crossed her fingers.

_Please Gryffindor, please Gryffindor. _Maddy chanted mentally.

"SLYTHERIN"

Maddy's jaw dropped. _'NO'_

Rizzy was shocked as well, as she had thought she would be in Gryffindor. Snape had a look of mingled shock and approving on his face. She walked over to the table and sat down, slowly.

"Figures…and you were friends with her Hermione?" hissed Ron.

"Yes! She's a very nice person, Ron!" Hermione hissed back at him.

"Now, I would like to welcome a new staff member." Dumbledore said in his mystic voice. Everyone's eyes turned to him, except Maddy and Rizzy, who were looking at each other. Their eyes were sending secret messages to meet up later. Then, they turned their attention to their Headmaster.

"Your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be Professor Tsuki." They looked at the new person at the staff table, surprised it is female. The students had only had one female Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and she had been absolutely horrid.

There was some applause mostly from people who weren't in Slytherin, because they were pleased that Dumbledore hadn't had to put Snape as the Defense teacher. Professor Tsuki smiled lightly.

"Now that introductions and sorting are over….I have two words…_Dig In_!" 2

The plates and goblets filled with food and everyone dug in. Ron and Seamus began pilling food onto their plates. Most of the chattering was over, seeing as their mouths were occupied with food.

Both Rizzy and Maddy took one look at the food and knew they wouldn't be eating tonight.

_It's chicken…eww…_ Rizzy thought.

_It's…poultry…the one thing I don't eat and they have it…eww… _Maddy grimaced.

There are other foods on the table but the main course was chicken, so they both decided not to eat. After all the plates were clear, Dumbledore stood up again.

"It is now time for bed, so I wish you all a good night, so you will be rested and ready for your lessons tomorrow." With that he left the room.

"Come on Ron we have to lead the first years to the dorm."

"Oh, yeah, come on shorties."

"Ron! You can't call the first years that!"

"What! They _are_ short."

Hermione sighed. This was a never ending battle between them.

The two lead the first years up to the dorms albeit, Ron was reluctant.

Hermione approached the portrait "Canis Minor" The Fat Lady obliged by opening.

Rizzy followed the Slytherin first years and the Prefects down to where the Slytherin dorms were.

Malfoy walked to a supposed wall and said "Purity".

They entered the Slytherin dormitory, decorated in green and silver. There was a fireplace at the far end that didn't seem to generate any heat, and a couch and some chairs. Pansy leads the girls, one direction while Malfoy lead the boys in another, to their dorms.

"Hey, Rizika, since you're a sixth year, you're not with them. You're with us." Pansy said as she led her to the sixth year's dorm. Sure enough Rizzy found her belongings. She sat on her bed a few moments before going to the bathroom to change.

Maddy followed Hermione as she brought her to the dorm. "This is where we sleep, since you're also a sixth year, you sleep here."

"Ok, thank you…." Maddy found her bed, and sat on it, wondering what Rizzy was up to. She sighed and headed to the bathroom to change.

Both girls were lying on their beds wondering what the other on was up to….

Harry and Ron were sitting on their beds…

"That was a good feast, mate." Ron grinned. "One of the best ever, if I do say so myself…"

"Yeah…." Harry replied absentmindedly.

"Harry, is something wrong?"

"No…but that girl….her name was Black…..do…do you think she's related to…"

"I dunno…"Ron pondered this thought for a moment. "But Harry even if she is, she isn't him. You gotta remember that."

"Yeah…" Harry nodded, "Yeah…I know."

1 This comes from the first book, mostly. I changed a few things but it is still similar.

2 Dumbledore says something like this in one of the books.

Oh, yes that part about the DADA teacher was written _before _the 6th book came out. I had no clue that Snape would really be the teacher….scary.

Okies that is all for this chappie! What do ya think? It is pretty long….

Please Review! It only takes like two minutes…and if you review and tell me a story you've written I'll go read yours and Review it! I like all sorts of stories….so please review?

Well, until next time Sayonara!


	5. Harry Somethingorother

Chapter 4: Harry Somethin-or-Other

Neither Maddy nor Rizzy had slept much that evening. Rizzy felt a little uneasy in a dormitory full of strangers. She was used to sharing a dorm room with Maddy. The two girls had been inseparable. Maddy, however, was having a hard time sleeping mainly because of two other girls that shared the dormitory with her and Hermione. Their names were Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, and both of them loved to gossip. Before any of them could fall asleep, the two girls had interrogated Maddy about everything. If she had a boyfriend, how cute the boys were in America, were they immature like most of the boys at Hogwarts, and so on and so forth.

When morning came, Maddy and Rizzy were only too happy to leave their dormitories and head down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Maddy sat down at the Gryffindor table and looked around for Rizzy. She couldn't see her over at the Slytherin table or anywhere else. While she was waiting, she looked down at what they were serving for breakfast. There was a large plate of eggs in front of her. She recoiled, looking disgusted. Her eyes scanned the room once again for Rizzy.

"Looking for me?" A familiar voice from behind her said.

Maddy turned to see Rizzy standing behind her, looking rather tired.

"Yes, actually…" Maddy replied, relieved.

Rizzy took a seat next to Maddy and looked down at the food distastefully. Maddy nodded in agreement. She pulled a small piece of paper out of her pocket that she had received from Professor McGonagall that morning.

"I got my schedule…It's not too confusing…" Maddy said simply, handing it over to Rizzy.

Rizzy nodded, "I got mine too. Po- I mean…_Professor_ Snape gave it to me this morning…"

The two girls looked down at their schedules to compare. They had a few classes together, such as Potions, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Other than that, they were on their own. Their first classes ever at the school were separate. For Maddy, it was Charms and for Rizzy, it was Arithmancy.

The doors opened, and a few more students entered the Great Hall. Rizzy and Maddy suddenly felt nervous again. Even if there had been something on the table that was appealing to them, they wouldn't have been able to eat it, in fear of it coming back up.

A trio started to pass Maddy and Rizzy, when Hermione stopped in front of them. She told the two other boys to go ahead and get seats and that she'd be there in a second. Rizzy scowled as she recognized one of the boys as being the boy from the train.

"Hi Maddy! How did you sleep last night?" Hermione asked cheerfully.

"Fine…" Maddy answered, smiling falsely.

Hermione turned her focus to Rizzy, "I'm sure you don't remember me…but we used to live next door to each other when we were younger-"

Rizzy's eyes lit up, "Hermione!"

The two old friends reached out over the table to embrace each other. Maddy shifted uncomfortably, and waited for Hermione to leave. Unfortunately, she didn't.

"So…what do you two have for classes today?" she asked as she sat back down.

"Arithmancy." Rizzy answered quickly.

Before Maddy could answer, Hermione beamed, "You're taking Arithmancy too? It is one of my favorite classes! But I have it this afternoon…I have Charms first."

Maddy butted in, "I have Charms first today."

Hermione turned to Maddy, smiling; "Really?"

Maddy nodded.

"That's great. You'll like it. Professor Flitwick's a good teacher." Hermione smiled and looked down the table at her awaiting friends, "Well…I have to go. I'll see you two later!"

Hermione got up and headed toward the other end of the table, where the two boys sat chatting over their new schedules.

"Well…she seems nice…" Maddy said awkwardly.

"She is!" Rizzy insisted. "She really is…but she seemed a little too over-excited. Maybe it's because it's the first day of school…she's always been like that…"

Maddy glanced at her watch. They had fifteen minutes until their next class, but neither of them knew where they were going, so they decided to head out a little early. By the grand foyer, Maddy hugged Rizzy, and they headed off in opposite directions. Rizzy went off in search of the Arithmancy room, which was on the seventh floor with Gryffindor tower. Maddy was in search of the Charms classroom, which she believed to be on the second floor.

Fifteen minutes later the bell rang, signaling the time to be in class. Rizzy bustled around the seventh floor peering into classrooms before she finally came across the right one. (She had come face to face with a moving staircase on her way up, making her very lost and confused.)

Professor Vector, a middle-aged, plump witch, stood in the front of the class. She clapped her hands together when Rizzy entered the room, looking flustered.

"Class…We have all met each other at one time or another I am sure," her voice was light and kind. "But this year we have a new student with us…Rizika, will you please come over here?" She summoned Rizzy to her side. Rizzy stared at the class like a deer in headlights.

"This is Rizika Raven. She is a transfer from the Salem Witches Institute, in Salem, Massachusetts. You all know where that is, right?"

The class nodded. Some students exchanged looks of annoyance. She was treating them like they were five. Of course, they knew where Salem, Massachusetts was! They all took History of Magic at one point in time.

A blonde Slytherin boy in the back of the class nudged the girl beside him and whispered into her ear. She giggled, and Professor Vector glared at them.

"Mr. Malfoy! Miss Parkinson! Is there something you would like to tell the class?"

Draco Malfoy glanced at Pansy and smiled. He shook his head and leaned back in his chair. Professor Vector patted Rizzy's back and showed her a seat, near the back of the room. As soon as she had turned her back to the classroom, to write something on the board, Malfoy had started imitating her. It was quite funny, but Rizzy feared that if she laughed, she would get into trouble, which was the last thing she wanted on her first day at a new school.

"Very well now class," Professor Vector said, back still to the class; "I want you to read pages 5 through 27 of your textbook before we get started." She wrote the assignment on the board.

Draco imitated someone immediately forgetting the assignment, she had only just told them. Rizzy was starting to dislike this guy. He seemed full of himself.

"Hey Malfoy," a blonde Hufflepuff boy turned around in his seat, "I didn't know you took this course…I thought it'd be a little too difficult for you…"

Malfoy was caught off guard by this comment. "Come again, Macmillan?"

Ernie Macmillan smiled smugly. "Going deaf, too? Shame…shame…"

Rizzy thought the Macmillan boy had a lot of nerve. She could see Malfoy's temperature rising. Suddenly, he turned to Rizzy, noticing she was staring at him.

"You think he's funny?" he asked shortly.

Rizzy smirked, "Yeah, kinda." She wasn't going to put up with him.

"Listen, you're a Slytherin…so you'd better start acting like one…" Malfoy turned in his seat to face Rizzy. "We don't let Hufflepuffs, like him, walk all over us…We hate Gryffindors…and avoid Ravenclaws at all costs…"

"Why?" Rizzy asked.

"Why?" Malfoy scoffed, "'Cause we're better than them…If you want to make it big at this school, you gotta know the right people. It all comes down to who you know. You start hanging out with riff-raff like this" he nodded in Ernie's direction, "and whatever reputation you had, goes down the toilet."

Rizzy nodded, secretly not believing a word he said.

"Especially Gryffindors who think they're better than everyone else. There are a few in particular. You don't want to start being seen with any Weasley of any kind. That'll be _enough_ to ruin you. Mudbloods…" A few people ahead of Malfoy turned around to glare at him, "Like Hermione Granger, are an embarrassment."

Rizzy took offense and opened her mouth to make a comment, when he cut her off.

"Oh…and last but not least. Potter. Saint Harry Potter. He walks around this school like he owns it. He's Dumbledore's 'Golden Boy', and he's friends with everyone I just said not to be friends with."

Rizzy was thinking of something else to say, but "Right…" was the only thing she could come up with.

"Everyone thinks he's so great, because he defeated the Dark Lord…but guess what. He's not…the Dark Lord's back, so he didn't do anything oh so great…" Malfoy's voice trailed off.

Rizzy didn't feel much like listening to him anymore. She had never heard of Harry Potter before, and if he was as important as Malfoy made him out to be, she was sure someone would have mentioned him by now. Secretly, she believed Malfoy was a tad jealous of this Potter boy. But, who was he? She was curious to find out.

Maddy wasn't any better off. She had arrived at the classroom early, but had decided to go to the bathroom, before entering. She got lost on the way back to the room, (not realizing there was a bathroom right next to the classroom, that she could have used…) making her late for class. Professor Flitwick made a similar introduction of Maddy to that of Professor Vector's.

"Miss Black!" he had squeaked as she had tried to enter the room unnoticed.

The entire room turned to face her. It could have been worse, seeing as there were only about ten of them in there. Toward the front of the room, she could see Hermione Granger sitting with a red-haired Hufflepuff. She smiled at Maddy and waved. Maddy forced a nervous smile.

"Miss Black is here from Salem, Massachusetts! She will be joining our class for the year! Please welcome her and be nice, because you all remember how terrifying it was when it was your first day at school."  
Maddy took a seat toward the back at a desk by herself. The lesson was interesting, but Maddy's eyes never left the top of her book. Instead of taking notes, she wrote a letter to Rizzy saying that she didn't like it at Hogwarts and she wanted to go home.

She looked around nervously as she folded her letter in half and stuffed it into her bag. A red-haired boy sitting behind Hermione kept looking back at her. She quickly averted her eyes, and looked at the board. Professor Flitwick talked about the school year's schedule, and what they would be learning. As much as she wanted to listen, her mind started to wander…

The next thing Maddy knew, the bell rang, signaling to them that it was break time. Maddy broke out of her stupor, and grabbed all her stuff, shoving it pell-mell into her bag. She was starting out the door, when someone behind her called after her.

"Hey, new girl!"

Maddy turned around to see a tall, black-haired boy walk up to her. She couldn't help but notice he was really cute.

"You left your wand on your desk…" he said politely, holding it out to her.

Maddy took it and laughed, "Oh…thank you. I have to remember I actually have one of these…"

The boy looked curiously at her; "You've never had a wand before?"

Maddy shook her head, "At Salem, we just used our fingers. Like this."

Maddy snapped her fingers, and a bright-colored parakeet appeared on her arm. It twittered loudly, and the boy laughed, amused. Maddy blinked and the bird disappeared in a puff of green smoke.

"I'm impressed…" the boy said.

Maddy shrugged. She had been able to do that for years.

"Here…you mainly use your wand…" the boy held out his hand, "I'm Harry by the way…Harry Potter…"

Maddy took it, flushing deeply. "I'm Maddy…Maddy Black."

Harry was relieved to see that this girl wasn't gaping at his forehead. He had doubts that she had even seen his scar. This made him feel better. He hated people who stared at him. This girl was different though. She didn't appear to know his story.

Maddy let go of Harry's hand and looked away. He made her nervous. But the good nervous, not the _'Oh my God, I think he's going to kill me and bury me somewhere no one will ever find me'_ nervous. She glanced at her watch and looked back up at Harry.

"I guess we'd better be getting to our next class…"

Harry nodded, "What do you have next?"

Maddy checked her schedule. "Uhhh…Divination."

"You poor thing." Harry said immediately.

Maddy looked up, "Why?"

"Professor Trelawney is a little strange…oh, and if she tells you, you're gonna die, don't believe her. She tells just about everyone that."

Maddy nodded. She started toward the door. Harry hurried after her.

"You know…I don't have another class right away…do you want me to show you where the divination tower is?"

Maddy smiled, "I would like that…"

Harry offered her his arm, and blushing, Maddy took it. They headed in the direction of the North Tower, and they talked of many things. Maddy told him the story of her parents dying, and her going to live with her uncle for about a year, but then being sent to America and being adopted. Harry longed to ask her questions about her family, but felt it would be rude, seeing as he only just met her.

"…So, now I'm here…trying to figure something out…hoping to God, that I'll find my Uncle…or find someone who knows anything about my family…" Maddy concluded.

Harry shook his head; "Wow…if it's any consolation…I lost my parents too…"

Maddy looked at him horrified, "How would that be any consolation! That's horrible!"

Harry didn't expect this kind of reaction from her. But, if there was something Harry had learned over the years about women, it was that you needed to expect, the unexpected.

"Well…I just figured, I'd tell you…so you weren't alone…"

"Oh…" Maddy said slowly. She cast a nervous glance in his direction; "If you don't mind me asking…how did they-"

"Car accident…" Harry said quickly, thinking of the first thing that came to mind. Maddy didn't know his story, and he wasn't about to tell her either. He liked being treated like a normal person. Not some worshipped hero…

"Oh…" Maddy's face fell, "I'm sorry…I never liked cars much myself…prefer flying…"

"Flying?" Harry's eyes lit up.

"On…a-a b-broom." Maddy said quickly, catching herself.

Harry broke out into a wide smile, "Me too! I play Quidditch! You know what that is, right?"

Maddy nodded quickly, having the sudden feeling that she was going to regret what she had just said.

"I'm actually the captain of the Gryffindor team this year…you'll have to show me some of your moves at try outs or something…"

"S-Sure…" Maddy said, still staring at him.

Harry smiled and headed up a new flight of stairs. Maddy fell behind with a look of disbelief on her face. She couldn't believe what she had just said.

**"A BROOM?"** she mouthed to herself, **"WHAT AM I THINKING!"**

**"WHAT WAS I THINKING!"** Maddy said loudly.

Rizzy stared at her best friend pace around an empty classroom. Neither of them could say their first day at school was uneventful. Both of them had met some very interesting people.

"I've never even been **ON** a broom!" Maddy hit herself hard upside the head.

"Why did you tell him you had, then?" Rizzy asked simply.

"I dunno…" Maddy whined, "We were just talking…and then he smiled…and then the next thing I know…I'm the next Viktor Krum."

"Viktor Krum?" Rizzy asked with an eyebrow raised.

"He's a Quidditch player, Rizz…" Maddy said exasperatedly.

"I _know_…I just never thought you'd compare yourself to him…he's not very good looking is he?"

Maddy shook her head and sighed. She didn't know what to do. She had never lost her head like this over a boy. Even Rizzy knew this was a big deal. Maddy had never lied to impress a guy before. This boy must have been real special.

"So…he cute?"

Maddy sank down onto a nearby desk, "Mmm-hmm…"

"What's his name?"

Maddy stood back up. "I dunno…" she began to pace again. "Harry…Harry…Harry somethin-or-other…"

Rizzy looked up quickly, "Potter?"

Maddy clapped her hands together, "That's it! Harry Potter! Aha!" She grinned widely. But, it didn't last. It seemed to melt off her face as she turned to face Rizzy. "How did you know?"

Rizzy shrugged, "Some guy in my class was talking about him…I guess he's some kind of a big-shot…a hero…"

Maddy couldn't help but laugh. She could see Harry flying around during a Quidditch match, but she could never imagine him off fighting evil creatures.

"Harry! A Hero! Don't make me laugh uncontrollably…" Maddy continued to laugh.

"It's true!" Rizzy insisted. "And from the sounds of it, he's not very popular either! The blonde kid in my class didn't seem to like him too much."

Maddy crossed her arms, "What's there not to like about him? I mean he's tall…handsome… smart…" she sighed deeply and closed her eyes, leaning against the wall.

Rizzy narrowed her eyes and stared at Maddy accusingly, "You like him don't you?"

Maddy's eyes popped open, "No!"

It was Rizzy's turn to laugh. Maddy was always really bad at lying. "Ha…You do!"

"No I do not! I barely know him!"

"I can see it in your face…" Rizzy said tauntingly.

"No you can't!"

"You're blushing…"

Maddy turned her back on Rizzy. "No I am not!"

The two of them fell silent. Rizzy tried to stifle her giggles. Maddy could feel her cheeks growing hot. She _was_ blushing…

"You like him," Rizzy's voice cut through the silence.

Maddy turned back around to face her, "No I don't! Leave me alone…"

Rizzy's laughter faded, as Maddy's eyes stared to water. Rizzy frowned.

"Come on Mad, I was just teasing."

Maddy sat down on a nearby desk; "Yeah, well…it's not funny…"

Rizzy shrugged. She had found it hilarious. She never got to tease Maddy about these things. She had always liked _someone_ in her past years, but she had never _truly_ liked them to the extent that Rizzy could tell she liked Harry. Or to the extent where Rizzy could tease her about it.

"Harry's a gentleman…" Maddy pouted, "Unlike any guy _you've_ ever dated…"

"Oh, so now you two are dating…" Rizzy said, shrugging off the insult.

"No!"

"Oh…but you want to date him."

"No…I mean…well…I dunno…" Maddy couldn't seem to come up with a truthful answer, "Why do you keep bringing this up?"

"I don't…" Rizzy said innocently, "You do…with all that 'he's a gentleman' crap…"

Maddy's mouth opened and closed several times. Finally, she closed it, not being able to think of another thing to say. Rizzy smiled triumphantly. She loved it when things came out her way.

"So what are you going to do? I mean…does he want you to fly with him or something? Does he actually want to see you fly?"

"No…" Maddy shook her head. Suddenly, it hit her.

_Quidditch Tryouts…_

"He wants me to try out for the Quidditch team! Oh, I forgot about that! What am I going to do?" She looked at Maddy pleadingly.

"Um…try out?" Rizzy answered simply.

"But I can't FLY!" Maddy said loudly, "Not on a broom!"

"Then…don't try out…"

"I already told him I would…"

"You've got a problem then…" Rizzy said, nodding.

Maddy paced around the room for a moment. "What if I tell him I'm afraid of heights?"

Rizzy shrugged, "You wouldn't have told him that you liked flying then."

"What if I get sick?"

"He'll postpone the tryouts."

"What if I pretend to break a leg…what if I _really_ break a leg?"

"The medi-witch'll be able to fix it in no time…and even so…he'll postpone tryouts."

Maddy made a sound of annoyance, "What if I just keep coming up with so many excuses that he had no choice, but to go on with the tryouts, whether I'm there or not?"

"He'll just give you the position." Rizzy said simply.

Maddy rounded on her, "He wouldn't do that…he _couldn't _do that…"

"You only just met him…how do you know what he would and would not do? After all…he is a gentleman…" Rizzy mimicked Maddy's dreamy stare.

Maddy hit her. She did not look that pathetic. Or at least, she hoped she didn't. If she had, people would obviously notice, and then the whole school would know about her and Harry.

_But I don't like him…_ Maddy pressed in her mind, _I don't! I don't! I don't!_

"Well…what place are you going to try out for?"

"Place?" Maddy looked up confused. She thought she was trying out for the Gryffindor team… wouldn't that be considered the place?

"You know…Keeper, Seeker, Chaser…Beater?" Rizzy said the last one with a hint of pride.

"Um…I don't know…"

Rizzy stared hard at her best friend, "Go out for Chaser…I think you should…"

Maddy racked her brains; "Those are the ones who pass around the red ball right?"

"The Quaffle…yes…" Rizzy shook her head sadly. Maddy would be the sorriest Quidditch player ever. She hated to admit it, but it was true.

Maddy whined loudly. Rizzy told her not to worry about it until the actual tryouts. Until then, they would figure out how to get Maddy a broom and then Rizzy would give her lessons. Maddy secretly hoped Harry wasn't out on the Pitch very often, so he wouldn't have to see her feeble attempts at flying.

"Now…if we're still on the subject of boys…" Rizzy's eyes glinted mischievously, "It's my turn to talk…"


	6. Lesson Nightmare

**Chapter 5: Lesson Nightmare**

(written by Maddy edited by me )

Disclaimer: We don't own the characters. Except Rizzy and Maddy own themselves and I own the new DADA teacher.

The next day was the girls' first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. (Double Gryffindor/Slytherin) There was a buzz around the school with rumors about the new professor. Secret bets were being made about how long she would last. Maddy and Rizzy didn't see what the big deal was.

They arrived at the classroom a few minutes before the bell. Rizzy was babbling on about this Neville boy she'd met.

"He sounds nice, Riz. You never know-Oh my god!" Maddy moved quickly behind Rizzy.

Rizzy was caught off guard. "What? What's wrong?" Her eyes frantically scanned the room.

"It's him…" she said, pointing toward a desk at the back of the room. Harry sat there talking to Ron and Hermione.

"Oh, so that's him?" Riz smiled, moving out of the way so Maddy was out in the open. Maddy froze like a deer in the headlights.

"Rizzy!" she hissed.

"Oh, come on Mad…" she said, grabbing Maddy by the arm and leading her to a desk not to far from Harry's "He's in your house. He's gonna have a lot of classes with you."

"Maddy blushed. "I know…" she glanced in Harry's direction, who, at the same time, looked back at her smiling. She looked away quickly.

"I mean it's a big school and all, but there aren't that many-Oh my God!" Rizzy cut off just as Maddy had only moments before.

"It was Maddy's turn to look puzzled. "What's wrong?"

"Neville…" Rizzy squeaked. "What's he doing here?" Her eyes were roughly the size of hubcaps.

Maddy looked at her oddly, not looking at the boy Rizzy was gawking at. "Do I look that ridiculous when the same thing happens to me?"

Rizzy snapped out of her stupor; "Me? I don't look ridiculous! What are you talking about?"

Maddy smirked and sat down, suppressing the urge to look back at Harry again. Professor Tsuki appeared at the front of the room just as the bell rang. Each of them jumped as she clapped her hands together to get their attention. For a few moments she just grinned as she looked over them all.

"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts. I am your new teacher Professor Tsuki." She introduced herself in a faint accent. "This year-"

The door opened up unexpectedly and a teenage boy, about seventeen, entered. His hair was even blonder than Malfoy's. Under his Slytherin robes, you could clearly see a leather jacket. The boy was tall and lanky, but very attractive.

"Hello!" Rizzy said in a low voice to Maddy, gazing at the boy.

Maddy nodded and replied in the same hushed tone. "Gorgeous, much?"

"Class started five minutes ago, little brother, but I'm glad you've actually decided to join us." Professor Tsuki's grin didn't flicker.

Rizzy and Maddy looked at each other dumbstruck. _Brother!_

"I got lost…" he said through gritted teeth, "And what have I said about calling me that in public?"

Professor Tsuki frowned for the first time. Rizzy and Maddy immediately both preferred her smiling. This (frowning) made her look stern, frightening and very McGonagall-esque. The uncanny resemblance sent shivers up Ron and Harry's spines.

"Very well. Five points from Slytherin, Mr. Tsuki. Happy now?"

He didn't respond.

"Please take a seat" Her hand rested upon a wooden stake that sat at her desk. The boy glanced at it and sat down rather quickly. "Now where was I? Oh yes. This year we will be covering many different creatures and beings that you may come across in your later years. If you have continued with the N.E.W.T level of this class, you must have an obvious passion for it. You will be expected to participate in class and perform with partners occasionally-"

Dean Thomas's hand flew into the air. She stopped short and stared at him a moment.

"Yes, Mr.…?"

"Thomas, Dean Thomas. Does this mean we actually get to do spells this year?"

Professor Tsuki looked confused, but noticed that the rest of the class looked interested as well. "Of course. Why wouldn't you be able to?"

Some student looked at each other. The memory of Umbridge was still fresh in their minds. Harry raised his hand. Professor Tsuki's eyes widened and she smiled again as she noticed him.

"Yes, Mr. Potter?"

There was a sharp intake of breath from Maddy, who was the only one who didn't turn in their chair to look at him.

"Well, Professor last year she didn't let us do spells in class. She thought it was better to learn from theory." Harry explained.

"How ridiculous!" Professor Tsuki laughed. 'No, No…in this class we will be performing spells. As I said before, they will be used to protect you from magical creatures and other dangerous beings."

Maddy's hand shot up, without warning. Rizzy looked at her.

"Miss…?"

"Black…" she replied shakily. She could feel everyone's eyes on her. Harry was staring directly at her, though she was not aware of this. (this was a good thing, for if she were, she would have fainted.) "What exactly do you mean by 'dangerous beings'?"

"Not very bright is she?" Ron muttered.

"You're one to talk…" Harry said quickly, not realizing what he said. He looked at the offended look on Ron's face and apologized quickly. "Sorry."

"I mean like…" Professor Tsuki couldn't seem to find the words that could explain what she meant. "Beings like half-humans, like centaurs, for example or whole humans who have extremely dangerous weapons other than magic…"

"like vampires?" the drawling, snide voice that belonged to Draco Malfoy cam from the other side of the room.

Professor Tsuki's eyes flashed, and if one were to look closely you would see bits of red in her eyes as she turned to face him. Her brother also looked up. The stake that was on her desk was now in her hands and she tossed it in the air. She looked defiant…

"Vampires? Yes, I suppose so…" she cleared her throat, "But , I have heard that you already covered them so we won't be going in depth….

"Like Sirens?" Maddy asked abruptly.

Professor Tsuki looked relived that the subject had moved on. "Yes…like Sirens and other Merpeople. I believe we'll cover that this year…yes I do believe so. Yes, you will learn how to protect yourself from Sirens. Gentlemen, you should be keen to listen to that lesson. They are probably the most dangerous of the Merpeople…she seemed to prattle on and on.

"Maddy could feel her hands curl into fists under the desks. Rizzy kicked her leg, quickly. Maddy looked at her and spread her fingers out. Harry and Ron looked at each other, confused. No one had really ever mentioned Merpeople before. Harry had to face them once and they were a violent bunch, but he'd never actually heard of a siren before.

"Are they like Veela?" Lavender Brown asked, not even bothering to raise her hand.

Maddy glared in Lavender's direction. Being compared to a Veela was the worst insult she had ever received.

Professor Tsuki laughed, "Actually, Veela and Sirens are mortal enemies. Though they do share the same violent tendencies and a charming nature that attracts men like flies. " She gazed over her students and her tone became sober. "Actually, what you will be learning to protect yourselves from is not from the creatures themselves, but their magic, their power. I should hope you never have to ever really use this magic, except for your exams. But unfortunately where there's good there's also bad."

She turned her attention to the lesson at hand. The class continued on for another hour and a half. They talked about upcoming topics and took notes on Lethifolds. Rizzy continuously glanced at the brown haired boy near Harry. Maddy couldn't see him very well, so she couldn't make much of a judgment. It turned out that Professor Tsuki's brother was named William, though he gave his sister a look when she called him that. Maddy didn't get it.

When the bell rang, they began to file out the door. As they passed Professor Tsuki's desk, Maddy and Rizzy glanced at some of the items on it. Along with the stake, there was a picture of a family (obviously Professor Tsuki's. William was standing in the back.), a pile of books about various creatures, and what looked like a weird amulet. There were also several potion bottles filled with a strange red liquid.

Out in the hall, Rizzy finally spoke her suspicions.

"She's a vampire!"

"Maddy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure Riz…"

"She is!" Rizzy insisted. "Did you see the look on her face when Malfoy said something about vampires?"

Maddy wasn't sure who Malfoy was, but assumed he was the blonde boy who had spoken. "Sure…I guess. I dunno. She might have had a bad run in with one. I mean, if she's a vampire, why would she have a stake on her desk.? That could kill her couldn't it?"

"Only if it's stabbed through her heart." Hermione showed up next to Rizzy, closely followed by Ron and Harry. Maddy tensed up and looked at her feet.

"I knew that…" Rizzy said quickly.

"So you think she's a vampire too?" Hermione asked. Rizzy nodded and Maddy shrugged. "Yeah, so do these two. Oh, by the way. This is Ron Weasley and Harry Potter." She indicated each of her friends.

"Rizzy glared at Ron an nodded in Harry's direction.

"This is Rizzy Raven…"Hermione began to introduce the girls," And Madeleine Black…"

"Hi." Ron said shortly.

"We've met." Harry said nodding toward Maddy, who had begun to chew her bottom lip.

"Where are you going next?" Hermione asked the girls, curiously.

"Charms" they said unanimously.

Hermione glanced at Rizzy, "I didn't know you were in our Charms class. You weren't there yest-"

"I know…" Rizzy cut in. "There was a small mix up with my schedule. Now, I'm in your Charms class…"

Harry, Ron and Hermione joined the two exchange students as they made their way to the second floor. Rizzy moved to go into the bathroom next to the Charms Classroom. Hermione flung out her arm to stop her.

"You might not want to go in there…"

Rizzy looked at her. "why not?"

Harry and Ron exchanged glances. They hadn't been in there in a long time, but they still remembered who resided in that particular bathroom. Harry also remembered that that person had an eerie crush on him.

"Moaning Myrtles in there..." Hermione said warningly.

'Who's Moaning Myrtle?" Maddy asked quickly.

Harry answered her, moving toward the classroom. "Trust me…you don't want to know. Rizzy if I were you, I'd hold it…"

Rizzy nodded and followed Harry. "It would be really weird if Harry was me…" she muttered into Maddy's ear.

Maddy shuddered, "Yeah it would…" she stopped abruptly with a strange look on her face. "Oh, man…now I've got a picture of him wearing a skirt suck in my head…Thanks, Riz!"

Rizzy burst out with laughter. Harry turned around and stared at them.

"What are you laughing about?"

"Nothing!" Maddy said hastily, glaring at Rizzy. "Nothing!"

Once they were inside, they took their seats quickly. Professor Flitwick appeared on his usual pile of books and squeaked the day's lesson at them.

"I will be dividing you up in pairs. Now…Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger…Mr. Longbottom and Miss Brown…Mr. Potter…"

Harry looked up quickly. Maddy crossed her fingers under her desk.

"Will you please partner with Miss Black?"

"Of course," he replied cheerfully.

Rizzy smirked and Maddy elbowed her although she could hardly hide her smile as well.

"Miss Raven…" Flitwick chirped.

"Yes, sir?" she said sitting up straight.

"Partner with Miss Bulstrode…"

Rizzy looked over to the Slytherin he had indicated. She had broad shoulders and looked extremely mean, Rizzy looked at Flitwick and smiled weakly. Maddy patted Rizzy's shoulder sympathetically.

"Oh, I'm sure she's not that bad…"Rizzy said optimistically, though something in her voice sounded doubtful. "Have fun with Harry…"

Maddy smiled half-heartedly and made her way over to where Harry was sitting. Flitwick showed them a new levitation. This gave them the power to control the object that they were levitating. On their desks appeared six miniature Quidditch goal posts and two minute broomsticks. They were supposed to levitate the brooms and move them through each of the six goal posts.

"The incantation is _Wigardium Leviosa Maxima_…" he announced with a chuckle. "Try saying that five times fast."

"Do you want to go first?" Harry asked offering Maddy one of the tiny broomsticks.

"Sure…" Maddy said, uncertainly. She was still really shaky with her wand.

On the other side of the room., Rizzy didn't seem to be having as much difficulty.

"Careful…" Millicent murmured as Rizzy's broomstick made it through the second hoop and dropped onto the desk.

Rizzy was still uneasy around the massive form of a girl, next to her. For some reason Millicent's tone of voice didn't match her looks.

"You don't have to be scared of me, y'know…" Millicent said as though she could read Rizzy's mind.

"I'm not scared of you…" Rizzy said quickly.

Millicent laughed harshly. "We're Slytherins…we gotta stick together. Trust me, you're doing a lot better than most people in this room. Like that new girl over there…" She nodded in Maddy's direction. "Potter will end up in the hospital wing if he's not careful…"

"She's new with a wand…"Rizzy said defensively.

Millicent shook her head slowly. "Whatever. She's a Gryffindor. That's bad enough…"

"Oh…"Maddy said loudly. "Okay…I can do this…"

"Just concentrate…" Harry said reassuringly.

"_Wigardium Leviosa Maxima!_" she said rapping her wand hard on the broomstick. It shot off into the air and zoomed around their heads several times before-

"OW!"

Maddy's hands clapped to her mouth as Millicent guffawed.

"See…what'd I tell ya?" she elbowed Rizzy.

"Oh, Harry! I am so sorry!" Maddy couldn't believe what had happened.

Harry's hand covered his left eye. Somehow, the broom had flown past Harry's glasses and poked him in the eye. Maddy couldn't quite figure out how.

"Oh, and you were wearing glasses and everything…" She panicked. "Are you okay?"

'I'm fine…" he said laughing "Trust me, its not that bad. I've seen worse. I'll be fine…"

"Potter!" Flitwick, who was busying himself with Neville's mistakes, called over the class, "Go to the Hospital Wing and have Madame Pomfrey check it out…Mr. Longbottom give me your wand…"

"No, Professor…really, I'm all set…" Harry protested. This was stupid really. He had been in far worse situations.

"Miss Black, will you kindly escort him?"

Harry dropped his hand. "All right, I'll go."

Maddy grabbed him by the arm and dragged him towards the door. She stopped abruptly.

"Do we need a pass?"

Harry shook his head, "No, just go…"

"Well…that was certainly the most excitement we've had in this class in…forever…" Millicent said, eyeing the pair hurrying toward the door. "It's usually Defense Against the Dark Arts or Care of Magical Creatures where someone gets hurt…"

Rizzy nodded, unsure of what to say.

"I'd get used to it though.." Millicent advised. "A lot of weird things happen here."

"Like what?" Rizzy asked, suddenly curious.

Millicent scoffed, "Where do I start?"

"Mr. Potter, I dare say that I am seeing too much of you…" Madame Pomfrey frowned as she peered at his now slightly blue eye. Harry attempted to roll his eyes. "Now explain to me again what happened…"

Maddy continued to pace around the Hospital Wing. "We were trying out a new charm in Flitwick's class, and I have never been really good with a wand, and something went wrong and to make a long story short, the little broomstick we were trying to make fly through the hoops, somehow hit him in the _eye_…"

Madame Pomfrey glanced at her, "_You _ may be having a fit of hysteria. Come sit down dear…"

Maddy shook her head, No, I'm all right. Are you sure you're ok Harry?"

"Oh he's fine.." Madame Pomfrey answered before he even got the chance. "He's been through much worse."

"As I've said a hundred times, Maddy…there's nothing to worry about…"Harry said looking at her.

"So the broom went _through_ his glasses?" Madame Pomfrey peered into Harry's eyes.

"I don't know." Maddy stopped pacing and crossed her arms. "I don't know what happened. I was just trying to get the broom into the air and next thing I know, Harry's hurt."

"I'm not hurt." Harry insisted. "Maddy you should really sit down."

"Ohh…I've never hurt anyone before…" she said, starting to walk around the room again. "Not by accident at least…I mean I've hurt Rizzy before, but that was on purpose and I've always had a really good reason…"

"Please, Miss…" Madame Pomfrey couldn't seem to concentrate. She brushed back his bangs, exposing his forehead.

Maddy stopped and stared at Harry. "What's that?"

Harry looked up at her, "What's what?"

"That…on your forehead…" She tried to get a better look at the marking.

Harry turned his head sharply and the hair fell back into place, covering the lightening-bolt scar. "It's from the accident…"he mumbled.

Maddy could tell he was uncomfortable with the subject. "I'm sorry…"

"MR. POTTER, WOULD YOU PLEASE STOP MOVING YOUR HEAD SO I CAN FIX YOU UP!"

About an hour and a half later, the five of them made their way toward the dungeons where they were having their first N.E.W.T level Potions class. Harry and Ron were astounded that they would still be taking it, for they had both received E's on their O.W.L's and had been told that they needed O's. Apparently not many people made it into the N.E.W.T level of Potions anyway.

Rizzy bore a smile that was a complete contrast to the dreariness of the hallways under the school. Everytime Maddy looked at her, something in her stomach turned nastily. She never thought that she would be so nervous for a class, but she knew it was going to be horrible. She was terrible at Potions!

"So, why don't you like Potions?" Harry asked Maddy as they approached the Potions' dungeon.

Maddy glanced sideways at Rizzy who was now humming happily, and spoke in an undertone. "I've never been very good at them. If it weren't for Rizzy, I would never have even passed. I'm only taking it, because I really want to be an Auror, so I kinda have to."

"You want to be an Auror?" Harry's eyes brightened.

"Yeah, I thought it would be cool…"

Harry shook his head as they walked towards the room. "You play Quidditch," (Maddy's stomach turned) "You want to be an Auror. Is there anything you don't do?"

"Oh!" Rizzy butted in, "She doesn't fall in love."

Maddy gaped at her.

_What a wonderful time to bring_ that _up!_

Rizzy grinned. Maddy had always told Rizzy that she couldn't fall in love with anyone. She was a Siren and that's just the way things were. Sure she liked Harry, but did she love him? No! ( Or that's what she would tell you, if you were to ask.)

"Hey…you said it yourself…" Rizzy said hurrying forward.

"But, I…I never…" Maddy couldn't seem to come up with anything to say.

Harry didn't look at Maddy, nor did he reply to Rizzy's comment. The group fell silent. Rizzy continued to wear a broad smile that began to get on Maddy's nerves.

"Potions is going to be awesome, you guys…" she said happily. Harry, Ron and Hermione rolled their eyes, "I am the best at Potions. Well…maybe not better than my dad, but I'm pretty close, he-"

"Rizz…" Maddy said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

Rizzy closed her mouth but continued to smile. Maddy couldn't see how anyone could smile being down in the dingy dungeons halls. The whole place reeked of gloom.

Outside the classroom, a couple of Slytherin boys, stood talking amongst themselves. When they spotted the approaching group, the blonde boy elbowed the one to his right and nodded in their direction. They stopped a little distance from the Slytherins.

"I hat him…" Harry said curtly.

Rizzy didn't bother lowering her voice, "He doesn't seem to fond of you either…" Maddy glared at her. Rizzy looked innocent. "What! Just saying…"

"Why do you hate him?" Maddy asked curiously.

"Cause he's a spoiled, little bast-" Ron began quickly.

Harry stepped on his foot to shut him up. 'He's a jerk."

Maddy glanced over at the blonde boy. He was the one who had spoken out in Defense Against the Dark Arts. She couldn't deny that the boy was attractive, for indeed he was, but there was no desire to associate herself with him.

Rizzy glared at the blonde boy, as well, though her expression was great bit fiercer. She remembered what he had said about Neville and did not like the boy one bit.

When the dungeon opened, they, accompanied by a few more students who showed up soon after, entered the classroom.

Rizzy led Maddy over to a table near the middle of the room. (She had tried to convince Maddy to sit in the first row, but Maddy refused.) The door at the back of the room opened suddenly and Professor Snape made his way toward the front desk at the front. As he walked by, Rizzy smiled wider and Maddy shivered.

Snape stood behind a desk and glanced around the class. He seemed to be disgusted at the small amount of students that actually achieved good enough grades to be there.

"Welcome to the N.E.W.T level of Potions. Some of you, I am sure, are mastering the skill of Potion making." His eyes wandered over Rizzy. "Some of you…I have no idea how you got here…" Harry avoided making eye contact with Snape. Neville who sat next to Ron, trembled. Of all of them. He was the greatest shocker when it came to his Potion grade. Somehow, he had achieved an E as well.

"Today you will be learning how to make a simple Amortentia solution…" he tapped the chalkboard and the instructions appeared. "Good luck."

'But Po-" She caught herself and shoved he hand into the air, "Professor, don't you think that this is a bit advanced…not to mention illegal…"

Snape turned his eyes onto her, "Rizzy as long as I am here, overseeing the process, nothing is considered illegal."

Maddy narrowed her eyes. Amortentia was the most powerful love potion in the world. It could be extremely dangerous in the wrong hands. Even Maddy, who was the worst potion maker, knew that. Rizzy seemed to agree.

"But, sir…"

"That's enough…" He said turning back to his desk. "Now, you have the rest of class…get started."

Maddy peered at the board. Rizzy didn't even bother, and immediately started to pour different ingredients into her cauldron. Behind her , she was happy to know that Harry was having difficulty as well.

"Harry…it says _four_ drops of Hellebore. "Careful…" Hermione told him.

An hour and a fifteen minutes later, the dungeon was filled with different colored smoke. Rizzy's potion was, of course, flawless and she seemed lulled into a sleepy stupor by the scent it gave off. Maddy's gave off spiral smoke and smelled right, but wasn't exactly mother of pearl in color. It was more of a lavender-purple.

"Stop!" Snape called over the class. "I will be coming around the room to check your work."

He started in the back, where he didn't bother to look at Neville's which was a smoggy kinda grayish-blue. His lip curled as he stepped in front of Harry's cauldron.

"What's this Potter?"

"Amortentia, sir.." Harry said lazily, not looking at is Professor.

"What does it smell like?" Snape's smile was sickening.

Harry didn't answer. Maddy didn't think it was a fair question for Professor Snape to ask. It was none of his business what Harry smelled. That was personal. Snape moved along. He nodded politely at Rizzy's cauldron and stopped at Maddy's. Suddenly the weird feeling in her stomach returned.

"Miss Black…could you tell me what color your potion is supposed to be?"

Maddy bit her lip and looked down at the purpley mess. "Mother-of-pearl…"

"And are you colorblind Miss Black?"

Maddy's hands began to tremble, "No, sir…"

"I didn't think so…"

Rizzy glared at Snape, who didn't return the gaze. When Maddy didn't answer, he moved on to the next table, scrawling what looked like a big "P" on his grade sheet. Rizzy glanced over at Maddy, who was busy shoving ingredients into her bag.

"Mad...he means-"

"No…just forget it. He hates me…"

"You're a Gryffindor, he has to hate you…" Rizzy tried to reason with her. "He doesn't really…"

"Does too."

"Does not."

"Does"

'Doesn't"

The bell rang a few minutes later and they hurried out the front door. Maddy reluctantly placed a label vial of er potion on Snape's desk. Once they were out in the hall, Harry turned to them.

"Listen, Maddy don't listen to anything he says. He's like that to most of us."

Maddy didn't answer him. She had never been humiliated in front of an entire class before. Rizzy was avoiding her gaze and looked at the floor.

"He's just like Malfoy. I hate the whole lot of them." Ron said rudely. "Purebloods…" Maddy looked up. "Slytherins…" Rizzy glared at him. "All of'em…"

"Ron…" Hermione said slowly. "_You're _a pureblood."

Ron smiled knowingly, "Yeah, I know, but I don't count. I'm a blood traitor remember?"

"What's wrong with slytherins?" Rizzy finally asked, still glaring at Ron.

"They're evil and stupid and-" he broke off as Hermione glanced at him and jerked her head in Rizzy's direction.

"And there's nothing wrong with Purebloods either…" Maddy said slightly offended.

"That's exactly what a Pureblood would say!" Ron said, not thinking. Harry looked at him quickly as he noticed Maddy's eyes flash. Both girls looked like they were prepared to commit homicide.

As Ron continued to babble on, Rizzy and Maddy stormed off in the other direction, unsure of where they were going but determined to get away. Ron looked from Hermione to Harry, confused.

"What did I say?"

Harry shook his head and started to walk in front of him. "And you two think I'm tactless…"

When they reached the foyer, Harry, Ron and Hermione headed off in the direction of Gryffindor Tower. Rizzy grabbed Maddy by the arm as she started after them.

"Let's go outside…"

Maddy turned, "But I want to-"

"Relax…you'll see him again. If not soon, you'll see him on Saturday…"

'Why?"

Rizzy smirked as she moved toward the great oak door, "You've got Quidditch Tryouts…"

I'm so sorry for the extremely long wait for the chapter…I know Rizzy's gonna have a few words with me about that….Maddy gave me the Chapter before the Holidays, but I still didn't get it up so I apologize to everyone, including Maddy because I know I stressed her out a bit.

On other news…we're starting writing the 6th chappie. Hopefully we'll be done quicker (I'll type faster…)

Anyways thanks for reading! Please review…we love reading them and you'll get enthusiastic responses.


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